DUI Second Offense

If you’re facing a DUI second offense you already know somethings about the charge of drunk driving and the criminal justice system. What you may not know is that second offense drunk driving has much more severe penalties for its conviction. While a first offense drunk driving is punishable by up to 93 days in jail, four points on your drivers license and a restricted license for 90 days, a second offense DUI is punishable by up to one year in jail. What’s more, instead of four points it carries six points on your driving record. Where the real change comes is where the law requires a mandatory minimum sentence of five days in jail and a revocation of driving privileges for a minimum of one year if the prior conviction occurred within seven years of the new one. This means that for at least one year there is absolutely no driving permitted for any reason: not for work, not for alcohol testing, not for community service.

A second offense drunk driving is where a great lawyer can really make a significant difference in your defense. While the need to get the charge dismissed is even higher than in a first offense case, if that is not possible a great lawyer can find ways around the severest penalties that are presumed required by law. We all know that not having a drivers license in southeastern Michigan where there is no reliable public transportation can for some people be a more severe penalty than even spending a few days in jail. A great lawyer is one who sees if a client’s efforts at rehabilitation can mitigate the court’s sentence and perhaps make him or her eligible for participation in programs which both keep a client out of jail AND behind the wheel of their car. These programs exist in the law and it takes an experienced lawyer to identify them and create eligibility for his clients to participate in them.