What changes legally
- The statute changes from VC 23152 to VC 23153, which requires an act forbidden by law or a neglect of duty that causes injury to someone other than the driver.
- The charge becomes a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony.
- Great bodily injury allegations can attach, and each additional injured victim can add an enhancement.
- A felony conviction here is a strike when a great bodily injury allegation is found true.
What changes at the bail window
County bail schedules under Penal Code 1269b price each count and each enhancement. A felony 23153 with enhancements can be scheduled at many times a standard DUI. Where a death is alleged, the filing may be vehicular manslaughter or, with a prior DUI and a Watson advisement, murder — a category where the court may not set a schedule amount at all.
Where a bail review comes in
Under In re Humphrey, a California court must consider ability to pay and less restrictive alternatives before setting bail a defendant cannot afford. On a high-schedule injury case, a bail review hearing is frequently the difference between a workable number and an impossible one — that is defense counsel's job, and it is one of the reasons calling a lawyer early matters here.