When it comes to a felony DUI under California Vehicle Code 23153(a), there are certain things that the prosecutors must prove to sustain a charge against somebody in one of the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley Courts. The reason these elements are so essential is twofold.  First, this is what the prosecutors must prove.  If they can't prove it, then the person is not guilty.  No. 2, this is a serious crime, a matter of significant legal gravity that demands utmost attention.

If you get convicted of this, you can pretty much assure yourself of jail time or even prison time for a felony DUI, because that typically means that someone has been injured. The injury is probably severe, and therefore, the prosecutors are going to be looking to punish someone in a very serious manner.

Therefore, certain elements must be proven for a defendant to be convicted of a felony DUI.  I'd like to review those here so you have a sense of what it entails.  I do it because whenever a case goes to trial, that's what the jury will get.  They're going to get these elements. Understanding these elements empowers you with the knowledge necessary to navigate your legal situation.

The judge will read it to them.  They will be able to take it back when they deliberate in deciding whether a person is innocent or guilty.  So, why wouldn't we, if we're considering fighting a felony DUI case in Los Angeles, San Fernando, or Van Nuys, CA – why wouldn't we review the jury instructions and determine whether they can prove the case against you? Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys will review this topic further below.

Causing Injury While Driving Under the Influence

So, pretty much the judge will be telling the jury the defendant is charged with whatever count it is with causing injury to another person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both. To prove this crime, the prosecution – meaning the people – will have to prove that the defendant drove or operated a motor vehicle. 

Now, you might think that would be easy to prove, but in some cases, when the police come upon someone, their car is stopped. They're not driving the vehicle.  So, many times, that's one of the potential defenses – no, I wasn't driving a car.  I didn't violate anything.  I was parked.  The police can sometimes upend this by saying, "Yeah, we saw he was parked," but we watched him drive over there.

If they can demonstrate that, they will be able to circumvent this.  Another area where I see this come up is that people get so drunk they pass out in the middle of the road and say, Well, I wasn't driving. If you're in the middle of the road, that counts as driving, too, and they'll be giving a specific jury instruction to cover that as well.  But if you're in a good legal parking spot – even if your keys are in the motor – people get all confused about that.

If you're parked and not moving, and the police can't prove when you were driving, they're probably not going to be able to charge you with a DUI because this first element can't be met.  This is something you're going to want to sit down with an experienced DUI attorney who has handled felony DUI cases and has had success. With the right legal representation, there is a potential for a successful defense.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs

Element no. 2 is that when you were driving the vehicle, you were under the influence of a drug or alcohol.  This is another one that's not that easy to prove because it has to be when you were driving the vehicle that you were under the influence.

So, if they catch you 2,3,4,5 hours later, the question becomes how are they going to bring an expert in to be able to extrapolate backward to be able to say, okay, if he was a .20, for example, at 7:00 p.m., what was he at 2:00 in the afternoon?  How are they going to figure that out?

It's a scientific formula, but a lot of that stuff is voodoo science, and these guys are just coming and saying a bunch of things that can be attacked and chewed up by an excellent criminal defense attorney.  So, when you drove the vehicle and when you were impaired are crucial.  That's what Element 2 is all about, and it's something that the prosecutors have to prove.

Failing to Use Reasonable Care

Element no. Three is that while driving or operating the motor vehicle under the influence, the defendant also committed an illegal act or neglected to perform a duty.  Therefore, this is another requirement that must be proven according to the jury's instructions. If the prosecutors cannot prove this element beyond a reasonable doubt, then the case will be dismissed; you will be found not guilty.

Illegal Act Caused Bodily Injury

Element no. 4 – the defendant's illegal actions caused bodily injury.  That means you were driving recklessly, speeding, and engaging in any other illegal activity, which is what caused the damage. This is a significant issue in felony DUI cases.  I fight these cases all the time.  I've been dealing with it for the last twenty-five years.  Often, in these cases, it's unclear who caused the injury.

So, if you can't determine who caused the injury, you won't be able to charge the person with a felony DUI.  Suppose someone is driving along and they smash into the back of another car because they're not paying attention and get hurt, and the vehicle they smashed into, that person is drunk. In that case, that doesn't mean that the intoxicated person who got rear-ended is now responsible for a felony DUI.

You have to be the cause of the DUI.  So, suppose you have a case where you believe the reason is in dispute for a felony DUI in LA. In that case, you need to get in front of someone like me, who has been doing this for a long time. We need to sit down and get to the nitty-gritty to figure out whether this element of the jury instructions can be overturned, because if it can, we're in good shape and can potentially get this case dismissed.

Call a DUI Lawyer for Help

More than meets the eye here when it comes to felony DUIs.  There's a lot of stuff going on, and you're going to need a reasonable attorney because if someone got seriously injured and you were the cause of that injury, the prosecutors are not just going to be looking to put you in jail; they may be looking to put you in prison.

So, you need somebody who has done this before, who knows how to handle these cases.  If you cause a bad enough injury, they can assert a GBI allegation against you, and you're now looking at a strike on your record for the rest of your life.

That's another big issue when it comes to these cases, and that's that you have to cause a severe injury.  So, the question then becomes, what constitutes severe damage?  A soft tissue injury is not a severe injury.  Someone's neck hurts, their back hurts – that's not enough.

You have to do something that causes some damage – broken bones, a laceration that's a permanent scar, some bad dislocation – so get in front of an attorney.  If it's me, I have you sit down, and we go over everything.  At the Hedding Law Firm, we figure out precisely what the best strategy is, and then we put that strategy to work to protect you, your rights, your freedom, and your reputation.