14601.5 VC - Driving on suspended license for refusal or high BAC

Updated June 7, 2020

California Vehicle Code 14601.5 VC is the California statute that makes it a crime for a person to drive on a suspended or revoked license, when that suspension or revocation was for either a refusal to take a chemical test, or driving with an excessive blood alcohol concentration.

VC 14601.5 states that “a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at any time when that person’s driving privilege is suspended or revoked…and that person has knowledge of the suspension or revocation.”

Examples

days after getting her license suspended for a refusal to take a chemical test, Amanda drives to her boyfriend’s house.
following a conviction for DUI with a .08% BAC (and a license suspension), Maurice drives his son to school.
even though Desmond’s driving privileges were suspended for a chemical test refusal, he still drives to work every day.

Defenses

Luckily, there are several legal defenses that a person can raise. These include showing that an accused party:

had no knowledge of a license suspension;
was not “driving;” and/or,
was falsely accused.

Penalties

A violation of VC 14601.5 is charged as a misdemeanor, as opposed to a California felony or an infraction.

A first-time conviction of the offense is punishable by:

imprisonment in a county jail for up to six months; and/or,
a fine between $300 and $1,000.

If a party commits the offense a second time, within five years from the first offense, then he can be punished with:

imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year; and/or,
a fine between $500 and $2,000.

Note that in lieu of jail time, a judge may award a defendant with misdemeanor (or summary) probation.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will explain the following in this article:

Vehicle Code 14601.5 VC makes it a crime to drive on a suspended license due to a couple due to a DUI refusal or high BAC.

1. What constitutes a violation of Vehicle Code 14601.5 VC?

California Vehicle Code 14601.5 VC is the California statute that makes it a crime for a person to drive with a suspended or revoked license, when that suspension or revocation was due to:

a refusal to take a chemical test, or
driving with an unlawful blood alcohol concentration, or “BAC.”

Under this code section, a prosecutor must prove three elements in order to show that a defendant is guilty of a crime. These are:

the defendant drove a vehicle,
the defendant’s driving privileges were previously suspended or revoked for failing to take a chemical test or for driving with an unlawful BAC, and
the defendant knew that his driving privileges were suspended or revoked.¹

With regards to the third element, please note that an accused is presumed to have “knowledge” of a suspension if the DMV mailed him notice of a suspension.²

2. Are there legal defenses?

A person accused under VC 14601.5 can challenge the accusation by raising a legal defense. A good defense can often get a charge reduced or even dismissed.

Three common defenses to VC 14601.5 accusations are:

no knowledge of suspension;
not “driving;” and/or,
falsely accused.

2.1. No knowledge of suspension

Please recall that an accused must know that his driving license was suspended to be guilty under Vehicle Code 14601.5. It is a strong legal defense, therefore, for a defendant to show that he had no knowledge that his license had been suspended. But, since “knowledge” under this code section is presumed if the DMV mails a notice of suspension, the accused would have to show that the DMV failed to mail the applicable notice.

2.2 Not driving

A person is only guilty under this code section if he is actually “driving” with a suspended license. This means it is a solid defense for an accused to show that he was not physically driving a car. For example, a defendant can show that he was just sitting in the driver’s seat without the engine running.

2.3. Falsely accused

Unfortunately, it is not at all uncommon for people to get prosecuted based on false allegations. People get falsely accused out of

jealousy,
revenge, and
anger.

Thus, it is a valid defense for a defendant to say that a party falsely accused him of violating Vehicle Code 14601.5.

man in jail cell clutching the bars; a VC 14601.5 violation can lead to up to one year in jail

A violation of 14601.5 VC can lead to as much as one year in jail.

3. Penalties, Punishment, and Sentencing

A violation of Vehicle Code 14601.5 is charged as a misdemeanor.

A first-time conviction of the offense is punishable by:

imprisonment in a county jail for up to six months; and/or,
a fine between $300 and $1,000.³

If a party commits the offense a second time, within five years from the first offense, then he can be punished with:

imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year; and/or,
a fine between $500 and $2,000.⁴

In lieu of imprisonment, a judge has the discretion to impose misdemeanor probation, or “summary” or “informal” probation.

4. Related Offenses

There are three crimes related to driving with a suspended license because of a refusal or an unlawful BAC. These are:

DUI – VC 23152;
driving with a suspended license after a DUI conviction – VC 14601.2; and,
driving on a suspended or revoked license causing bodily injury – VC 14601.4.

4.1. DUI – VC 23152

California Vehicle Code 23152(a) VC is the California statute that makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle “under the influence” of alcohol.

Per VC 23152(a), “under the influence” means that a person’s physical or mental abilities are impaired to the extent that he can no longer drive as well as a cautious sober person.⁵

VC 23152(a) DUI is the “subjective” standard for DUI. In contrast, Vehicle Code 23152(b) sets forth the “per se” definition of DUI, which in most cases is driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher.

First, second and third offense DUI charges are prosecuted as misdemeanors in California. Penalties for these offenses can include:

misdemeanor probation,
fines,
DUI school,
a driver’s license suspension, and/or
installation of an ignition interlock device in the accused’s car.

4.2. Driving with a suspended license after a DUI conviction – VC 14601.2

California Vehicle Code 14601.2 VC is the California statute that makes it a crime for a person to drive with a suspended license, when the license has been suspended or revoked for either:

A violation of Vehicle Code 14601.2 is charged as a misdemeanor.