Statutory enhancements increase the maximum sentence for a violation of Vehicle Code § 23152 if the convicted driver has any prior convictions for driving-under-the-influence within the prior ten years.  For example, for a simple DUI (i.e., no accident causing injury or other complications), for a first conviction, the maximum jail sentence is six months; for a second or third conviction, one year; and for a fourth conviction, three years.  Minimum sentences, probabation period, license suspension period and other penalties are also effected. You should disclose prior DUI convictions to your attorney at your first meeting.

What if the "Priorability Period" Was Seven Years When Convicted? 

Prior to January 1, 2005, a DUI conviction counted as a "prior" for only the next seven years.  Then, the California legislature amended the statute to make it ten years.  Does this mean that if the priorability period was seven years at the time of the prior conviction, that the new ten year period does not apply? After all, in a plea bargain, the Tahl waiver form the person signed at the time of the first conviction said it would count for only seven years; probably, the judge even told the accused as much when he handed down the sentence.  Isn't increasing the priorability period after the conviction a violation of the Constitution's Ex Post Facto clause?  Unfortunately, not according to the California Court of Appeals.  In a line of cases from People v. Sweet (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 78, to the present, the Court has held that applying an increase in a priorability period backward in time is not an Ex Post Facto violation.

It is still possible to argue that the Court should disregard a prior DUI older than seven years because the seven-year period was an integral part of a plea bargain.  We make but usually lost that argument.  Under prevailing law, the argument will win only if the record of the time demonstrates (1) that the accused specifically relied on the seven-year-period and (2) that the reliance was rational.

"Wet and Reckless" Counts as a Prior DUI

A prior conviction for reckless driving in violation of Vehicle Code § 23103, if it involved a plea bargain down from a DUI charge, a so-called  "wet and reckless," will count as a prior DUI for purposes of any subsequent conviction for DUI.  This duality is mandated by Vehicle Code § 23103.5, which requires the prosecutor at the time of a plea bargain involving section 23103 to specify whether it was alcohol- or drug-related.

Out-of-State DUI Convictions

Convictions for DUI in states other than California may count as priors for purposes of a California conviction for DUI.  It depends on whether the other state's DUI law under which the person was convicted is "substantially similar" to California DUI statute.  For example,  the other state's per se standard for DUI cannot be less than .08 per cent BAC (for an adult).  Also, the other state's definition of "driving" must be the same as California's.  California defines "driving" to mean that the suspect controlled a moving car; for some states, control of the vehicle is sufficient, whether or not the vehicle moved.  A good lawyer will try to convince the Court to disregard any non-California prior convictions.