As a DUI specialist with over 30 years of daily courtroom experience defending thousands of cases I am always dealing with clients' concerns over their "out of state prior DUI convictions."
For many years those clients who were convicted of DUI's in other states, were "lucky" because California rarely saw these "out of state DUI convictions." With the advent of the internet, states frequently now have information they never had before regarding prior convictions. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has become part of an Interstate compact having mutal access to other states driving records.
California also shares its driving records with most other states. This recent change has created issues for some of our clients who have been arrested for DUI's in California, but who have previously been convicted of DUI's in another state. When prosecutors become aware of these "out of state priors" they have the discretion to alledge these as prior convictions. The purpose of doing this is to enhance and increase penalties for the current California DUI charge.
Secondly, clients may face enhanced license suspension problems in California (even for those with out of states licenses), as a result of prior DUI convictions in other states.
This new policy of interstate reciprocity, although not universally accepted, can cause some drivers who have been arrested for a DUI in California to face increased sanctions in the Court, as well as longer possible periods of driver's license suspension.
Our firm specializes in representing drivers who have been arrested for drunk driving charges. Many of our clients run into legal trouble when visiting California for business or pleasure.
A skillful lawyer with an understanding of these potential issues and consequences of out of state priors and out of state driver's licenses, can minimize or eliminate these often unpleasant surprises when handling a DUI case.
