A Riverside County lawmaker introduced legislation today that would make a DUI conviction part of a person’s permanent criminal record, instead of wiping out the convictions after a decade as currently done.
“Unfortunately, everyone has been impacted by the harmful act of a drunk driver in some way,” said Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet. “Current DUI penalties are not strict enough for repeat offenders, and this bill would change that.”
Under Emmerson’s SB 780, a single misdemeanor DUI conviction would be
counted against an offender for life. Existing law provides a 10-year “washout” period, at the end of which a DUI is deleted from a person’s record as long as he or she hasn’t been convicted of a second DUI in the interim.
A DUI offense that occurs after the washout is treated as a first-time conviction under current law.
SB 780 would also make a person eligible for felony prosecution if he or she commits a third non-injury DUI offense, regardless of when. Existing law requires four non-injury DUI convictions in 10 years before felony punishment can be sought.
The senator’s bill would lastly mandate a five-year sentence-enhancing allegation for any offender who flees the scene of a deadly collision they caused.
“Driving under the influence is a serious crime that requires serious consequences,” Emmerson said. “SB 780 will strengthen these penalties to reflect the severity of the crime.”
1 response so far ↓
1 Troy // Apr 4, 2011 at 4:52 pm
I simply do not agree with this rediculous idea. The senator should be making car makers install standard breathalyzers in all cars to start them vs. criminalizing Americans for life. Surely Americans have the right of forgiveness after ten years.
What is amazing is that in all this time that the technology has been availibe the senator has not made car makers install the technology that can save lives and reduce DUI to ZERO. Require taverns to only serve drinks to those that have the device installed period no designated driver. Focus on the systemic problem and that is that cars are not protecting the drinking public as they are in fact part of the puplic that the senator is sworn to protect as well. Its a bad decision to drink and drive but had the senator done his job right it could not happen if the standard equipment was installed in all cars. It is very simple senator require manufactures to put the safety device on all cars as standard equipment. Require liquire stores taverns bars to require breathalyzers in cars of customers and breathalyzers at leaving. That would be more in line with solving a problem. What the senator is doing is making a prison state mentallity without first requiring cars to be made fail safe. That is unconstitutional senator and you dam well I am right
so stop being frustrated I have given you a compass USE IT!
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