Criminal Penalties

• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in California is a crime punishable by fines and incarceration. Anyone found guilty of driving under the influence can be sentenced from 96 hours in jail to four years in state prison. DUI convictions can also bring fines ranging from up to $1,800 for a first-time offense to as much as $2,800 for a third offense. These fines don't include court costs or the price of hiring a private attorney.
  
  

Driving Suspensions

• Whenever someone in California is charged with a DUI, his license is immediately suspended. If the California Department of Motor Vehicles determines that the DUI charge is warranted, that person's driver's license can be suspended for a minimum of six months or as long as four years, depending on how many previous DUI convictions the person has.
  
  

Multiple Convictions

• While first time DUI charges in California bring with them potential jail sentences of up to six months, subsequent DUI convictions are much more serious. The first three DUI arrests for any person are generally charged as misdemeanors, while the fourth and subsequent arrests are charged as felonies.
  
  

Grounds

• California has a "per se" DUI statute, meaning that drivers can be convicted of DUI based solely on their blood alcohol content, or BAC. Anyone with a BAC of .08 or higher is considered legally under the influence of alcohol, and can be convicted of a DUI. Further, any commercial driver with a .04 BAC or higher can also be convicted of DUI.
  
  

Implied Consent

• California is an "implied consent" state, meaning drivers automatically give their consent to submit to a blood alcohol test if a law enforcement officer suspects them of driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants. Anyone refusing to submit to a BAC test in California can be subjected to a license suspension of at least one year.