Everyone who gets convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles County will have to do a DUI alcohol program, and they'll have to do one of the DUI classes. There's a three-month class, a six-month class, a nine-month, an eighteen-month class, and a thirty-month class.

Most offenders who get a first-time DUI will do a three-month alcohol program, where they're going to have to go through a DUI course for three months. It's like a class. You have to pay for the course, and if you don't do the system, the study will report you to the court. You will then violate your DUI probation in Los Angeles and look at potentially going to jail.

The judges and prosecutors take these DUI classes very seriously, and it would be an internal violation of your DUI probation if you fail to complete your DUI course. Sometimes, I have clients who don't want to do the course – are too busy, say they have to work – and do not do the program.

The judges say, okay, if you don't want to do the program, you will get 180 days in jail. How do you like that? So, that's how seriously they take these DUI classes.

DUI Educational Course

As far as what it is, it's an educational course related to DUIs – the impact they have on society and the impact they can have on you if you continue to drink and drive and kill somebody.

You could be looking at going to prison for fifteen for life and being charged with second-degree murder. So, I think they operate as an educational thing related to DUIs, and I think they also serve as a deterrent not to drink and drive anymore. So, for those who take them seriously, I've got pretty good feedback from my clients about DUI programs.

Those who don't take them seriously and mess around with them usually end up as a big problem in the DUI world because that's one of the indicators for the judge and prosecutor that you're not taking your DUI seriously; you're probably likely to re-offend.

So, they're going to punish you for that, and again, this whole DUI area and the topic is politically charged. The prosecutors, police, and judges are all very concerned when they see people not taking their DUI classes seriously, not taking the punishment related to a DUI seriously, and blowing off their responsibilities.

So, when it comes to the DUI classes, you have to do them. They're not that difficult to do. It's a matter of time and a little bit of money being paid for them. Another issue with these DUI classes is that the DMV becomes involved and part of their punishment when you get a DUI.

Driver's License Reinstatement by DMV

They're going to punish you for a first-time DUI. Part of their punishment is that you never get your driver's license back to drive in California again; you have to finish at least the first-offender alcohol program depending on your blood alcohol level and the number of DUIs you got. If you don't spend that program, they will never give you your driver's license back.

People come in from out-of-state with DUIs to try to get their California driver's license. Suppose they didn't complete the first-offender alcohol program compatible with Los Angeles, California's Department of Motor Vehicles. In that case, the DMV in LA says, well, then you can't drive here.

So, they make you complete the alcohol program. That's how seriously they take it. So, if you don't meet the alcohol program, you can't get your driver's license back. So, it's essential. Again, it's not that difficult. It's not that complicated. It's more a matter of time and being responsible enough to complete the alcohol program in Los Angeles.

So, if you have a DUI in  Los Angeles, you'll want to get an attorney who has been down this road before and had success. Contact our Los Angeles DUI lawyers to review your case.