2nd DUI
If you have a DUI that occurred within 7 years of an earlier DUI you are a multiple offender. The multiple offender presents a special problem to both the client and to the attorney because multiple offenses brings with them mandatory jail time, extended alcohol programs, vehicle impounds, and mandatory license suspensions.
Generally speaking, upon conviction for a second DUI you will have to do two weekends in jail, pay a fine of appx. $1800, complete an 18 month alcohol program, suffer a one year license suspension, and possibly install an ignition interlock device on any vehicle you drive.
A conviction for a 3rd DUI will get you 120 days mandatory minimum jail time, a three year license revocation, an extended period for the ignition interlock, along with the 18 month treatment program and the $1800 in fines.
A fourth DUI may be charge as a felony. The mandatory minimum jail time is 6 months and you could get up to 3 years in the state prison. You are also looking at a 4 year license revocation and the possibility of a vehicle forfeiture.
This multiple offense situations make negotiation and case preparation much more important. Sometimes to get a prior stricken or to plead to a lesser charge you will have to conduct an aggressive discovery campaign and be prepared to attack all aspects of the prosecution's case. Once you become a multiple offender the prosecution and the judge move much more cautiously in giving you any break. They don't want to look like fools if someone they have been lenient with hurts someone in a subsequent accident.
You must, with multiple DUI charges hire counsel that is experienced enough to deal with these complex issues. The outcome of your case will most definitely depend, in great part, on the skill and knowledge of your attorney. Another reason why you want an experience DUI attorney and not someone who handles those cases occasionally.
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