Many people charged with a DUI in California will be offered a plea deal by the prosecution. To put it another way, if you accept a plea bargain, you agree to plead guilty so that the prosecutor may get a conviction without going to trial. The repercussions will, in most situations, be less severe than if you went to trial.

Is a plea bargain the right course of action for you? It’s all up to you. Before making a decision, consider the following three factors. Then call Simmons Wagner, LLP for a free case evaluation with a criminal defense attorney in Anaheim CA.

What a plea deal can offer

In many California DUI cases, prosecutors will offer a plea deal that reduces your charge to either wet or dry reckless driving. A conviction for wet reckless can result in a sentence of up to three months in jail and two years of probation.

While this is significant, it pales in comparison to the penalties associated with a DUI conviction, which may include up to six months in jail and five years of probation. In some situations, a criminal defense attorney in Anaheim CA may advise you to accept this offer.

If you are charged with a DUI again within ten years, your wet reckless conviction will be considered a prior DUI offense. As a result, your second infraction will be treated much more harshly. Your insurance rates will increase if you are convicted of a DUI or a wet reckless. A dry reckless is a less serious crime that will have no impact on your insurance rates or your chances of a future DUI arrest.

They’ve gathered evidence against you

Then you’ll examine the evidence against you. Keep in mind that even if blood and breath tests appear to be definitive, they might be wrong. Sobriety tests conducted in the field might be deceiving at times. If you have a test result that reveals your blood alcohol content is 0.08 percent or below, you should contact Simmons Wagner, LLP. We might be able to call the test’s accuracy into question.

If your whole DUI charge was based on field sobriety tests, we can thoroughly investigate the matter and look for ways to attach the prosecutor’s evidence. We’ll also check into whether the tests in California were legal. If they weren’t, the evidence may be tossed out, and the charges could be dropped.

A DUI conviction comes with a hefty financial tag

A DUI conviction has numerous and serious short- and long-term consequences. You’ll have to pay more for insurance in the future, suffer penalties and court fees, almost likely have to pay for mandatory alcohol programs, and you may have to pay to have an ignition lock installed in your car. According to some estimates, a first-time DUI ticket might cost up to $20,000.

If you plead guilty to a minor charge, you may be able to save a lot of money. It all depends on the package you choose. When you work with Simmons Wagner, LLP, you can be confident that you will get the best legal advice available. If you choose to enter a plea, we will work relentlessly to ensure that you get the best possible result. Call (949) 439-5857 immediately for a free legal consultation with a criminal defense attorney in Anaheim CA.