DUI with GBI in San Diego
GBI stands for Great Bodily Injury. We already discussed felony DUIs and made mention that if you caused injury to others; the penalty you will be facing will increase. GBI is therefore an enhancement that the prosecutor may choose to and that is provided for under the penal code. It is important to understand that when convicted of a felony with this mention, it is mandatory that the prison terms for the offense and the special circumstance of GBI be served consecutively. It is therefore of great importance to remove this mention or the case gets much more complicated.
If you or a loved one were stopped for a DUI where someone was injured, call our San Diego felony DUI expert immediately at (619) 258-8888. Do not make any statements or pay bail before consulting with us. No matter the circumstances, we will mount the most effective defense for you and attempt to avoid a felony DUI with GBI conviction.
What is considered a Great Bodily Injury
The penal code limits its definition to significant or substantial physical injury which is not very precise wording to say the least. Because it is the prosecutor’s call to add GBI to the DUI, it will greatly depend on his definition. The last word belongs to the jury and the judge and the instruction the jury will receive is something along the lines of GBI is an injury that is greater than minor or moderate harm.
We still haven’t made much progress as to a clear cut definition so all we have to go by are precedents or previous cases. There lies the bad news, extensive bruising has been sufficient in the past to persuade a jury to convict for the aggravating circumstance of GBI in a domestic violence situation. That may very well be enough in a DUI case as well.
DUI with GBI as a negotiating tactic
Sometimes prosecutors will add a GBI enhancement to their case to gain a position of strength in pre-trial negotiations. The obvious goal in this case is to extract a guilty plea. It takes an experienced lawyer to deal with these tactics and make sure not to crumble needlessly in the face of strong arm tactics.
If you were stopped for a DUI with GBI, call us immediately at (619) 528-888. Do not say anything more to the police and do not pay bail before you have spoken to us.
