California DUI Glossary

DUI-DWI Dictionary: Terms and Definitions

Here are some common California DUI-DWI-drunk driving terms regarding Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Drugs charges.

If we have left out a term that you would like to see added, please email us!

Absorption Rate
The rate at which consumed alcohol finds its way into the blood stream. While alcohol sits in the stomach, its absorption is delayed. Absorption rate will be affected by how much was eaten, individual biologic differences, and what type of beverage was consumed. When drinking continues over a course of hours, both absorption and “burnoff” (metabolizing of alcohol) will be happening simultaneously.

Administrative License Suspension
A law that allows the prompt suspension of a motorist’s driver’s license if charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI), having a BAC above the prescribed limit of 0.08%, or if a driver refuses to take a roadside blood or breath test. The license can therefore be suspended before adjudication of the DUI charge.

ALS (Administrative License Suspension)
A California law that allows the prompt suspension of the driver’s license of a driver charged with DUI, even before the DUI charge has been proven in court (adjudicated).

APS (Administrative Per Se)
In California, there are two separate cases that arise from a single drunk driving arrest: 1) the court case, and 2) the Administrative Per Se, or APS case, with the Motor Vehicles Department. In cases where someone is arrested for DUI or a related drunk driving charge, and gives a breath or blood test with results that are above the legal limit (0.08%), the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will take an administrative action against the driver. In California, you have ten (10) days in which to request a hearing to contest the APS action. Thus it is important to contact a California DUI attorney right away after an arrest.

BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration)
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the concentration of alcohol in the bloodstream, and is used to determine the intoxication of an individual. It is measured as a percentage of alcohol in the blood by weight, and can be determined by testing breath, blood, or urine. As of May 2007, all 50 states have adopted a BAC of at least 0.08% as the limit that defines an individual as “legally drunk,” though you can be found to be intoxicated even if your BAC is below this amount.

Blood Test
A laboratory test that directly measures the percentage of alcohol content of the blood drawn from a DWI suspect.

Breath Test
A test of blood alcohol level that is derived from measuring the alcohol level of the suspect’s breath. It depends for its accuracy on the machine’s receiving air from deep in the lungs, and a mathematical formula is used to extrapolate the blood alcohol level from the lung-air alcohol level.

Breathalyzer
A portable machine used by law enforcement to measure the blood alcohol content (BAC) of suspected drunk drivers from a breath sample.

Burnoff Rate
The rate at which alcohol in the body is metabolized. During burnoff, the blood alcohol level drops, giving rise to the “falling curve” term to describe the graph of the decrease in BA.

Chemical Test
As it relates to DUI, a test of the alcohol or drug concentration in a person's blood. A Breathalyzer, blood analysis, or urinalysis can be used as chemical tests for alcohol. If other drugs are suspected, a blood test or urine test is used.

Community Service
Depending on the offense and its severity, the prosecutor may offer community service as part of your conviction and/or probation, or as a way to work off fines or jail time. Examples include living at home and reporting during the day to pick up trash, sweep public buildings, assist community charitable or public oriented organizations, or perform other services to the community. Community service may also be a mandatory part of your sentencing.

Conditional License
A California conditional license is a license granted “on condition” that you complete a DUI course, an alcohol treatment program, and/or some other requirement(s). Once the condition has been met, a standard license is generally issued or reinstated.

DUI (Driving Under the Influence)
In California this is the act of operating a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol or other drugs to the extent that your mental and/or motor skills are impaired. Driving under the influence (of alcohol or other drugs) is often a criminal offense, and can be charged even if the person is not actually driving a motor vehicle. In other states and jurisdictions this offense may be called DWI (driving while intoxicated), OWI (operating while intoxicated), OMVI (operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated). Other less common acronyms include operating a vehicle impaired (OVI), and Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI). Many such laws apply also to boating, piloting aircraft, or cycling, possibly with different BACs than driving.

DUI School
California DUI schools are typically drug and alcohol education programs designed to help you realize how dangerous drinking and driving is and hopefully to ensure that you are not a repeat offender. Here is a list of California approved DUI schools.

DWI
Driving While Intoxicated. Another term for DUI, common outside of California.

Felony
A serious crime, such as murder, rape or burglary, for which a stricter sentence is given than for a misdemeanor. Felonies are usually categorized by degrees, 1st degree felonies being the most serious, with the highest fines and penalties. Many states treat DUIs that cause serious bodily injury as a 3rd degree felony. If there has been a death as a result of the DUI, it might be classified as a 1st or 2nd degree felony, depending upon the prosecutor and the situation. Some states elevate DUI to felony status even without an injury or death, if the suspect has a given number of prior DUI convictions. A felony can result in a sentence to state prison instead of county jail.


FST(Field Sobriety Test
A series of physical and mental coordination tests designed to help an officer decide if a driver is DUI. These may include walking a straight line, reciting the alphabet, standing still with feet together and arms extended, standing on one foot, etc. These are highly subjective, but if the officer concludes the driver is DUI, he will require a BA test. States seldom have statutes that penalize refusing to perform FST’s, but most will penalize refusal to take a Blood Alcohol Test with license suspension or other penalties.

Ignition Interlock Device (IID)
An ignition interlock device is a breathalyzer machine installed in cars to prevent a vehicle from starting if it detects a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over a certain pre-set limit. The device is located inside the vehicle, near the driver’s seat, and is connected to the engine's ignition system. Many states require that the device be used by repeat offenders already convicted of DUI.

Implied Consent Laws
In states like California, simply having a driver’s license means that you consent to chemical testing of your blood alcohol levels if pulled over for suspicion of a DUI. Per California Vehicle Code (VC) 23612, any person who drives a motor vehicle is deemed to have given consent to chemical testing of blood or breath for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his or her blood, if lawfully arrested for an offense allegedly committed in violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153. In many states, you can refuse to take the test, but fines and license suspensions may be the result.

License Suspension
In California, your driver’s license can be taken and driving privileges suspended even before a trial or conviction of a DUI for either failing of refusing the breathalyzer test. A license suspension means you may not drive for the period of your suspension. Driving privileges in California are administered by the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV), not the court system. You, or your lawyer on your behalf, may be able to negotiate a limited suspension, meaning you may drive to and from work, but nowhere else.

License Revocation
A license revocation means your driving privileges have been cancelled. You will likely need to reapply for a driver's license after a designated length of time.

Miranda Rights
The formal advisement that you have the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present before answering questions, which police must recite prior to questioning someone who is in custody. These are seldom relevant to DUI cases, because the police never arrest anyone until after questioning and some form of testing for intoxication. Nevertheless, you have the right not to answer questions such as, “How much have you had to drink?”

Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a crime considered less serious than a felony. These crimes never result in the loss of civil rights, but may result in the loss of privileges such as professional licenses or public employment. Misdemeanors are sometimes categorized by degrees—1st degree misdemeanors being the most serious class, with the highest fines and penalties. Many states treat a first DUI conviction as a misdemeanor.

Open Container Laws
In California, these laws make it illegal to have or drink from an open container of alcohol in designated areas. This law most commonly applies to having alcohol in vehicles. Some jurisdictions even consider drinking alcohol in a parked car a DUI offense.

PAS (Preliminary Alcohol Screening) Test
A P.A.S. or “Preliminary Alcohol Screening” test is a breath test to determine blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. Per California Vehicle Code §23612, you are not required to submit to a Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) test, even if requested to do so by an officer.

Probable Cause
In order to stop or detain you for a California DUI, an officer must have a reasonable suspicion (“probable cause”) that criminal activity such as drunk driving is or was taking place. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. And per landmark Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio (1968), an officer must provide "specific articulable facts" that a crime is or was taking place before s/he can initiate a traffic stop.

Probation
In California, when you are convicted of a crime such as DUI, the judge may suspend part or all of your jail sentence, and instead place you on probation. Some grants of probation are unsupervised, others involve reporting to a probation officer. The judge can place conditions on your probation such as remaining employed, abstaining from illegal behavior, and/or following a probation officer’s orders. Jail time may be reinstated if it is found that the terms of probation have been violated.

Provisional (or Restricted) License
In California, a provisional license typically takes away certain driving privileges. In regards to a DUI, a provisional or restricted drivers license might be granted to someone to drive to and from work only, or to and from a court-ordered DUI program only.

Sobriety Checkpoints
These roadblocks are set up by law enforcement officers at a particular location for a certain time period, usually late at night or early in the morning on weekends, to randomly stop vehicles to investigate drivers for possible DUI. If the officer believes the driver is intoxicated, a detailed investigation follows, the same as if they would have stopped you driving down the road.

Urine Test
A laboratory chemical test of a DUI suspect’s urine to determine the suspect’s blood alcohol (BAC) level. Tests can be inaccurate because of the mixing of higher alcohol level urine from earlier with lower alcohol level urine closer to the time the driver is pulled over, thus giving an artificially high reading.

If we have left out a term that you would like to see added, please email us!