A felony DUI is a DUI offense that is charged as a felony instead of a misdemeanor. In California, most DUIs are charged as misdemeanors, but a DUI can be charged as a felony under certain circumstances. Here are the four circumstances under which a DUI can be charged as a felony in California:
- It’s your fourth DUI offense in 10 years.
- You have a prior felony DUI conviction.
- Your DUI caused injury or death to another person.
- You have three or more prior DUI or “wet reckless” convictions within a ten-year period.
It should be noted that numbers (1) and (2) above could potentially be charged as misdemeanor offenses at the discretion of the prosecutor. Because this is unlikely and rarely the case, most articles exclusively deal with DUI offenses as felonies.
