Is ‘Wet Reckless’ a Good Plea Deal for DUI?
Yes — A ‘wet reckless’ is better than a DUI conviction and gives you a chance to save your license.
Prosecutors can offer the plea deal known as a “wet reckless” when the evidence against you isn’t ironclad. Prosecutors, you see, would prefer the certainty of a conviction to the legitimate chance of losing at trial. Pleading to a wet reckless means that you are admitting to a charge of reckless driving — reckless driving that involved drugs and/or alcohol.[i]
Here is a comparison of the consequences of a DUI and the consequences of a wet reckless:
| DUI | Wet Reckless | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration of Probation | 3-5 years [ii] | Usually 1-2 years |
| DUI Program | 3 months [iii] | 6 weeks [iv] |
| Fine | Minimum: $390 Maximum: $1,000 [v] | Minimum: $145 Maximum: $1,000 [vi] |
| Jail Time (if probation is not granted or, once granted, is violated) | At least 4 days’ jail Up to 6 months in jail [vii] | At least 5 days’ jail Up to 3 months in jail [viii] |
Pleading guilty to wet reckless means a shorter DUI class, a potentially lesser fine, and, typically, less time on probation.
A shorter probationary period is worth noting because the sooner you can complete your probation, the sooner you can expunge your conviction from your record and protect your employment interests. If you are faced with jail time — either because you violate your probation or because you never received probation to begin with — a wet reckless carries significantly less jail time than a DUI.
But What About My License?
A wet reckless can protect your license on the back end, but not on the front end.
When you are arrested for DUI, the police will confiscate your license and issue you a temporary license that will expire 30 days from your arrest date.[ix] Once that temporary license expires, your privilege to drive will be suspended for four months.[x]
A wet reckless cannot stop the automatic suspension of your license that is triggered once you are arrested for DUI. This is because a wet reckless is a plea deal that can be offered only after you have been arrested and charged with DUI.[xi] The only way to stop the automatic suspension of your license is to request a DMV hearing within 10 days of your arrest and prevail at that hearing.[xii]
But if you plead to a charge of wet reckless, you can avoid the second license suspension that is imposed once you are convicted of DUI.
| DUI | Wet Reckless | |
|---|---|---|
| Will the Court Order Your License to Be Suspended Once You’re Convicted? | Yes, for 6 months [xiii] | No [xiv] |
If you prevail at your DMV hearing and plead to a wet reckless, then your license will not be suspended.
If you lose your DMV hearing and plead to a wet reckless, your license will be suspended — not by virtue of the conviction, but because of the automatic license suspension that was triggered when you were arrested for DUI.[xv]
Consequences that Are the Same Whether You’re Convicted of DUI or Wet Reckless
Whether you plead to a DUI or a wet reckless, either conviction is still “priorable.” This means that if you suffer another conviction for DUI in the next 10 years, you will face harsher penalties because you have a prior DUI-related conviction.[xvi]
Another aspect that a wet reckless won’t change is the adverse impact that a conviction will have on your car insurance. You can expect your insurance premium to rise whether you plead to wet reckless or to DUI. This is because both DUI and reckless driving add two points to your driving record.[xvii]
So, How Do I Get a Wet Reckless?
You’ll have to convince the prosecutor to accept your offer to plead to a wet reckless[xviii] by highlighting the weaknesses in the evidence against you, weaknesses such as:
- A blood alcohol level of less than .08
- A benign driving pattern (no swerving or weaving)
- Good performance on your field sobriety tests
- Physical symptoms consistent with sobriety rather than intoxication
- A clean driving and/or criminal record
Doing so may help the prosecutor realize that accepting a plea to a wet reckless charge would be preferable to addressing each of the case’s deficiencies at trial, in front of a jury.
Conclusion
If you can prevail at your DMV hearing, then pleading to a wet reckless will save your license from being suspended. But even if the DMV rules against you, the consequences of a wet reckless conviction are still softer than the penalties for pleading to DUI.
[i] Vehicle Code §§23103, 23103.5(a).
[ii] Vehicle Code §23600(b)(1).
[iii] Vehicle Code §23538(b)(1). A nine-month class will be required if authorities allege that a person’s blood alcohol level was .20 or more. Vehicle Code §23538(b)(2); Health and Safety Code §11837(c)(2).
[iv] Vehicle Code §23103.5(e), Health and Safety Code §11837.3(a)(1). Attendance for two hours a week for six weeks is typical of a Wet Reckless Program (also known as SB-1176).
[v] Vehicle Code §23536(a). Even if granted probation, the fine is the same and cannot be waived by the Court. Vehicle Code §§23538(a)(1), 23600(c).
[vi] Vehicle Code §23103(c).
[vii] Vehicle Code §23536(a). If granted probation, the Court can impose a minimum of two days in jail up to a maximum of six months. If granted probation, you may be sentenced to jail time by the Court. Vehicle Code §23538(a)(1). However, if you are not granted probation, then you are required by law to do at least four days in jail. Vehicle Code §23536(a).
[viii] Vehicle Code §23103(c).
[ix] Vehicle Code §§13382(a), (b), 13353.2(a), 13353.3(a).
[x] Vehicle Code §§13382(b), 13353.3(a), 13353.3(b)(1). Be aware that driving on a suspended license is a crime. Vehicle Code §14601.5(a).
[xi] Vehicle Code §23103.5(a).
[xii] Vehicle Code §§13558(a), (b), (c)(2); 14100(a).
[xiii] Vehicle Code §§ 23536(c), 23538(a)(2), 13352(a)(1). Note: If a loss at the DMV hearing and a conviction for DUI occur close in time, then the periods of suspension can overlap. Vehicle Code §13353.3(c). Also, it is lawful for your license to suspended first by the DMV upon being arrested for DUI, and then suspended again upon being convicted for DUI. Vehicle Code §13353.2(e).
[xiv] Neither the reckless driving nor the wet reckless statutes impose a mandatory license suspension upon conviction. Vehicle Code §§23103, 23103.5.
[xv] As unfair as it seems, the government has two opportunities to suspend your license: first, when you’re arrested for DUI, and again, once you’re convicted of DUI. Vehicle Code §13353.2(e).
[xvi] Vehicle Code §§23103.5(c), (d); 23540(a); 23542(a), (b). Note, however, that if you suffer a second wet reckless conviction — and not a DUI conviction — in the next 10 years, you will not be subject to harsher penalties because of your prior. See Vehicle Code §§23540(a), 23103, 23103.5.
[xvii] Vehicle Code §§12810(b), (c). An added benefit of a wet reckless is that it will appear on your public driving record for only 7 years; a DUI conviction will remain on your public driving record for 10 years. Vehicle Code §§1808(a), (b). This means that employers and insurers should not be able to find a wet reckless conviction older than 7 years. However, there is an exception for law enforcement: law enforcement can view wet reckless convictions that occurred up to 10 years ago. Vehicle Code §1808(f).
[xviii] Vehicle Code §23103.5(a). Before the plea deal can be accepted, the prosecutor is required to state, on the record, the facts that have caused the prosecutor to offer a wet reckless offer. Vehicle Code §23103.5(a).
Attorney Michael J. Ocampo is a former deputy district attorney. He focuses his practice exclusively on criminal law so that he can help those accused of a crime — often ordinary, everyday people — ensure that their rights are honored and that they receive a fair opportunity to be heard.
