A couple of people asked what kinds of legal ramifications Shia’s DUI arrest is going to have, so for those of you who are interested, I’m going to put my (very minor) skills as a law student to actual use here for once and explain what the courts will have to say about this incident.

On the misdemeanor DUI charge, Shia’s first court date is coming up in August. He has to get in touch with the DMV to get a hearing with them within the next ten days; if he doesn’t do so his license is automatically suspended at the end of August. The DMV has a hearing, and if he loses that hearing (which, if the facts we’re hearing are true, will probably happen) his license will be suspended for at least four to six months–he can get a provisional license, but use of that is typically restricted to travel between work and home.

On the criminal court front, there are a few penalties he may have imposed by the judge. California has a mandatory 48 hour jail sentence, but the time he has already spent in custody will be tolled against that, and the rest could be converted to community service. He could theoretically be sentenced to more time, and I’ve seen it happen, but we won’t even get into that possibility because it’s so minor. Other mandatory penalties include three years of informal probation, as well as fines. He could also be ordered to attend a three month alcohol program (especially considering the Walgreen’s arrest earlier in the year), and less likely, he could have an interlock device attached to his steering wheel that he would be required to blow into before driving.

The most important thing is that Shia has to make sure he doesn’t get arrested for DUI again. Another California DUI arrest (provided he’s convicted on this one) carries, among other things, a mandatory ten day jail sentence.

And finally, on the civil front, the driver of the other vehicle as well as Shia’s passenger are both entitled to sue him for their medical expenses. They can also recover for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, but considering the fact that their injuries are minor, these damages would be very small and probably settled out of court.

So Shia has quite a legal road ahead of him; I know we all wish him the best in navigating the court system, and are sure he will learn from this mistake.