The Watson advisement California judges give DUI defendants is a warning: if you drive impaired again and someone is killed, you can be charged with murder. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Braun's Law (SB 907) also requires it when a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a different or lesser offense substituted for a DUI charge.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 907, by Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), on Sept. 25, 2026. The Secretary of State chaptered it the same day as Chapter 443, Statutes of 2026, according to the bill's status page. The Senate had concurred in the Assembly amendments 38-0 on Aug. 31.
The law is signed, but it is not in force yet. SB 907 is a non-urgency bill, and under Article IV, Section 8(c) of the California Constitution, a regular-session statute "shall go into effect on January 1 next following a 90-day period from the date of enactment." For a bill signed Sept. 25, 2026, that date is Jan. 1, 2027.
What the judge will say
The warning itself is not new. Its wording is set out in Vehicle Code §23593(a):
"You are hereby advised that being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, impairs your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Therefore, it is extremely dangerous to human life to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both. If you continue to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both, and, as a result of that driving, someone is killed, you can be charged with murder."
You may not hear it read aloud. Under §23593(b), the advisement "may be included in a plea form, if used, or the fact that the advice was given may be specified on the record." If your plea form contains the advisement and you sign it, that satisfies the requirement.
The advisement also follows you to the DMV. Section 23593(c) requires the court to include on the abstract of conviction it sends to the department "the fact that the person has been advised." That creates a written record that the warning was given.
What changes on Jan. 1, 2027
Before Braun's Law, §23593(a) directed the court to advise "a person convicted of a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or a violation of Section 23152 or 23153." In plain terms, the warning applied to:
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DUI convictions under Vehicle Code §23152
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DUI causing injury convictions under §23153
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Wet reckless convictions (reckless driving under §23103, pled under §23103.5 as an alcohol- or drug-related offense)
SB 907 adds a new subdivision (d) to Vehicle Code §23635. It reads: "If a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a different or lesser offense as a substitute for an alleged violation of Section 23152, the court shall give an advisement pursuant to Section 23593." The Legislative Counsel's Digest sums it up the same way: the bill "would additionally require this advisement to be given if a person enters a plea to a different or lesser offense, as described."
That means a plea that previously came with no murder warning now comes with one when it replaces a §23152 DUI charge. Examples include a dry reckless (reckless driving without the alcohol designation), a hit-and-run count taken in place of the DUI, or another lesser charge.
The amended section also gets a name. New §23635(a) says: "This section shall be known, and may be cited, as Braun's Law."
What Braun's Law does not do
A dismissal does not trigger the advisement. Some earlier descriptions of the bill said dismissals would carry the warning. The version that was signed covers only guilty or no-contest pleas to a substituted offense.
When a DUI count is dismissed, the rules that already applied still apply. Under §23635(b), when a §23152 allegation is dismissed or a lesser offense is substituted, "the court shall specify on the record its reason or reasons for the order." Under §23635(c), when the prosecution moves for dismissal or substitution, it "shall submit a written statement which shall become part of the court record." Both duties have been in §23635 since 1998. They require reasons on the record, not a Watson advisement.
Why the warning matters: People v. Watson
The advisement is named after People v. Watson, 30 Cal.3d 290, which the California Supreme Court decided on Nov. 30, 1981. In that case, Robert Watson drank at a bar in Redding, then drove about 84 mph in a 35 mph zone with a .23 blood alcohol concentration. He collided with another car, killing the driver and her six-year-old daughter.
The court held that a fatal DUI crash can support a second-degree murder charge on an implied-malice theory. Malice may be implied, the court wrote, when "a person, knowing that his conduct endangers the life of another, nonetheless acts deliberately with conscious disregard for life."
The key word is knowing. Prosecutors use a prior advisement as evidence that the driver knew the danger. A signed plea form or a note on the DMV abstract is a documented record of that knowledge. It does not mean a future crash automatically becomes a murder case. What it does is give the prosecution evidence it can point to if it decides to bring that charge.
The wet reckless vs. dry reckless question
Defendants and their lawyers have long weighed a wet reckless against other outcomes. Braun's Law changes one part of that decision.
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Wet reckless: Nothing changes on the advisement. A wet reckless conviction already triggered the Watson warning under §23593(a).
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Dry reckless and other substituted pleas: This is where the law has its effect. Starting in 2027, if one of these pleas replaces a §23152 DUI charge, it carries the warning too. The advantage of a plea with no advisement goes away.
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Future hit-and-run exposure: A wet reckless is on SB 907's list of qualifying priors for tougher hit-and-run penalties (below). Taking one raises the penalty range for a hit-and-run conviction within the next 10 years.
None of this makes one plea right or wrong. The advisement is one factor among many in an offer, including fines, license consequences, probation terms and what the evidence looks like. That weighing belongs in a conversation with your defense attorney.
Tougher hit-and-run penalties within 10 years of a prior
SB 907 also amends Vehicle Code §20001, which covers leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death. The higher penalties apply when the hit and run happens within 10 years of a separate conviction for any of these:
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Wet reckless (§23103 as specified in §23103.5)
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DUI (§23152)
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DUI causing injury (§23153)
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Penal Code §191.5 (gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated)
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Penal Code §192(c)(1) (vehicular manslaughter)
Hit and run with injury, with a qualifying prior: According to the Digest, the offense becomes "punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony." The enacted range is two, three or four years in state prison, or up to one year in county jail, or a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, or both.
Hit and run causing death or permanent, serious injury, with a qualifying prior: Three, four or five years in state prison, or 90 days to one year in county jail, plus a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Without a prior, the range is two, three or four years in state prison, or 90 days to one year in county jail, and/or the same fine. Section 20001(d) defines "permanent, serious injury" as "the loss or permanent impairment of function of a bodily member or organ."
The case behind the law
The bill is named for Braun Levi, an 18-year-old Loyola High School student and nationally ranked tennis player from Pacific Palisades, according to the Governor's office. CBS Los Angeles reports that he was killed on May 4, 2025, on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. The accused driver, a 33-year-old woman, faces murder and gross vehicular manslaughter charges. CBS LA reports she had a prior 2023 DUI and hit-and-run charge and a license suspended in January 2024. Her case is pending, and she is presumed innocent.
"California needs change...We are so far behind in our DUI laws, and it's embarrassing, and it's unsafe," Braun's mother, Jennifer Levi, told CBS LA.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman's office sponsored the bill. The DA's office described it as ensuring "drivers whose DUI charges are pled down to a lesser or different charge are advised with a Watson Warning of the serious consequences of driving while impaired, which include being charged with second-degree murder if they drive while intoxicated and kill someone." In a July 7, 2026 county release, Hochman said: "My office frequently sees cases of impaired drivers with previous DUI convictions reoffend, yet still face consequences under current law that do not reflect the seriousness or repeated nature of their conduct."
Archuleta said in the Governor's release: "Having lost my granddaughter to a repeat drunk driver, this is personal." Newsom said "Getting behind the wheel when you are impaired is inexcusable," as reported by FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Companion DUI bills signed the same day
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AB 1546 (Nick Schultz, D-Burbank): increases penalties for repeat DUIs within 10 years.
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AB 1685 (Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale): raises DMV points from 2 to 3 for vehicular and gross vehicular manslaughter convictions.
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AB 1687 (Lackey): extends license revocation after three or more DUI convictions, which FOX 11 describes as "from three to eight years."
If you have an open DUI case
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Ask what kind of plea is on the table. Is it a plea to the DUI itself, a wet reckless, or a different or lesser offense substituted for the DUI charge? Starting Jan. 1, 2027, each of those comes with the Watson advisement.
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Ask about timing. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. Ask your attorney how that date applies to your case and when your plea would be entered.
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Read the plea form. The advisement can be printed on the form. By signing it, you acknowledge the warning, and the court reports it to the DMV.
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Consider the 10-year window. A DUI or wet reckless conviction counts as a prior for SB 907's increased hit-and-run penalties.
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Don't miss the DMV deadline. The license-suspension process runs separately from the criminal case and has short deadlines. See our explainers on plea deals vs. going to trial and on DMV administrative hearings.
Related reading
Sources
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SB-907 Bill Text (chaptered), California Legislative Information
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FOX 11 Los Angeles: California enacts "Braun's Law" to crack down on repeat DUI offenders
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CBS Los Angeles: "Braun's Law," signed by Gov. Newsom, cracks down on DUI offenders
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People v. Watson (1981) 30 Cal.3d 290, SCOCAL, Stanford Law School
Note: This article contains AI-assisted content and has been reviewed by our editorial team.
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