Baez

There are several instances where the law punishes more harshly an accused who has another conviction for a separate offense than an accused who has none. The three strikes law is one example. (Pen. Code, § 667.) Petty theft with a prior is another. (Pen. Code, § 666.) Vehicle Code sections 23152, 23550, and 23550.5 constitute yet another. Normally, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a misdemeanor. (§23152, subds. (a), (b).) However, driving under the influence (DUI) may be charged as a felony depending on whether the accused has a prior conviction for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subds. (a), (b); Veh. Code, § 23550.5, subd. (b)), has been convicted within the last 10 years of a specified prior violation that was punished as a felony (§ 23550.5, subd. (a)(l)-(3)), or has been previously convicted within the last 10 years of three or more separate DUI violations (§ 23550, subd. (a)).

In this case, we are asked to determine what happens when an accused is charged with DUI (§ 23152) and subsequently commits vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (Pen. Code, § 191.5, subds. (a), (b.)), which results in a felony conviction…