If you were arrested and the police took you to the police station, you've already been to jail, and it's just a matter of how long they held you.

Sometimes they'll hold you for several hours.  Sometimes they'll let you go relatively quickly, depending on how high your blood alcohol level is. Also, with the Coronavirus now, they've got limited space in jail to space people out, so they're not adding to the problem.

The following questions will be, once you get out of jail, I'm sure you had a horrible experience in prison, having your liberty taken away.  It's dirty.

Other people there are probably charged with more severe crimes than DUIs.  So, you want to make sure that you don't go back.

One big key is, is this your first offense?  If it is your first offense, you have a good chance of not going back as long as nobody was hurt during your DUI arrest.

That's one of my biggest goals, especially for first offenders, to protect their records and try to keep them out of jail in the future.

Once they get that taste of jail, most people hate it so much they never want to go back, and that's something they mention to me in my office at the first meeting — please, I don't want to go back to jail again in Los Angeles county.

And you haven't even tasted the worst part of the jail.  You've just been held in probably a local police station.  Los Angeles County jail is much worse because:

• much more hardened criminals;
• much dirtier;
• much more likely to catch a virus like the Coronavirus.

Factors That Determine Jail Time on a DUI

So, set up a meeting immediately.  Let's sit down.  Let's talk about it.  Let's get the game plan together right away, so don't go back to jail.

Another factor that will determine whether you go to jail and whether somebody was injured is how many prior DUIs you have.

If you have no prior DUIs, you're in pretty good shape.  If you've got prior DUIs, you start to run into a problem related to the jail.

In Los Angeles County, for a DUI, if it's a second offense, it's a mandatory minimum of 96 hours in jail.  So, that's four days in prison.

So, if you weren't held for four days, you were only fit for four hours. For example, you still have some time left to do if you're convicted of a DUI.  That's a minimum, by the way, up to a year on a second offense.  So, 96 hours to a year.

Third and Fourth Time DUI in California

On a third offense, the jail time jacks up considerably more.  A minimum of 120 days up to a maximum of a year, and if you're still on probation for the first or second, that's additional time that can be tacked onto the back of your sentence.

And for a fourth offense, you're looking at going to prison.  For a felony DUI in Los Angeles County, the high term felony DUI in Los Angeles county is three years in jail.  Plus, if you're on probation, they can add additional time.

So, you start to get the idea that DUIs in Los Angeles are taken very seriously.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving has a lot of political power.

Judges, prosecutors, and police pressure them to prosecute, convict, and punish those who continue to get DUIs in Los Angeles county.  There are hundreds of DUIs every month.

Criminal Defense For DUI Cases in Los Angeles

So, you've come to the right place.  I have a lot of experience dealing with DUIs.  I've defended thousands of them over a 26-year career.

I worked for the prosecutors early in my career in the early 1990s, and I also worked for a Superior Court Judge.

So, I have a pretty good idea of how all sides handle a case.  But we're only looking at your side.  We're looking to keep you out of jail and keep you out of prison.

If you've got a DUI, pick up the phone.  Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.  I stand at the ready to help you.

Hedding Law Firm is a top-ranked criminal defense law firm located in Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. Call our office for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0963.