The Watson advisement is a warning a California court must give you when you are convicted of a DUI, a DUI causing injury, or a wet reckless. It tells you that impaired driving is extremely dangerous to human life and that a later DUI that kills someone can lead to a murder charge. The law requires it on a first qualifying conviction, not only for repeat offenders.

What the law requires

Vehicle Code section 23593(a) requires the court to advise a person convicted of a wet reckless (a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5), a DUI under Section 23152, or a DUI causing injury under Section 23153. The statute does not limit the requirement to a second, third, or felony conviction, so it applies to any conviction for those offenses, including a first one.

The statute also supplies the wording. The advisement says that alcohol or drugs impair your ability to drive safely, that driving under their influence is “extremely dangerous to human life,” and that if you keep driving under the influence and someone is killed as a result, you can be charged with murder. It is a standard statement required at every qualifying conviction, not the court’s comment on the facts of your case.

How it gets documented

Under section 23593(b), the advisement may be included in a plea form, if one is used, or the fact that it was given may be noted on the record. You do not have to sign a separate form for it to count, and declining to sign does not stop the court from giving the advisement and noting it. Under section 23593(c), the court must include on the abstract of conviction it sends to the DMV the fact that you were advised. So the advisement becomes part of the DMV record of your conviction, whether or not you remember it later.

The case behind the name

The advisement takes its name from People v. Watson (1981) 30 Cal.3d 290. The driver in that case had been drinking heavily at a bar he had driven to, sped through city streets, nearly collided with another car, and then caused a fatal crash. The California Supreme Court held that the vehicular manslaughter statute does not rule out a second degree murder charge in a drunk driving death, and that those facts supported a finding of implied malice, so the murder counts could go forward. Watson describes implied malice as deliberately doing an act whose natural consequences are dangerous to life, knowing that the conduct endangers the life of another, and acting with conscious disregard for life.

That knowledge element is why the advisement matters later. Its text puts the danger, and the possibility of a murder charge, on the record in plain terms, so if you ever face a charge over a later DUI crash in which someone dies, the recorded advisement is the kind of evidence a prosecutor can point to on what you knew. If you are facing that kind of charge now, see Watson DUI murder defense.

What it means for you now

Receiving the advisement is a routine, required part of a DUI-related conviction. It is not a separate accusation, and it is not a finding about how dangerous your own driving was. Its significance is for the future: it documents that you were warned.

  • If your case is being negotiated down to a wet reckless, section 23593(a) still requires the advisement, because it lists a wet reckless among the triggering convictions. See wet reckless for how that reduction works.
  • If this is a third or later DUI, the advisement is one part of a larger sentencing picture; see third DUI California.
  • If you want to know whether an advisement was given in an earlier case, the plea form, the court record, and the abstract of conviction sent to the DMV are where it would appear.

If you have questions about a DUI conviction on your record, including this advisement, Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review your case. Call (800) 755-5174 to discuss your situation.