If you get arrested for a second DUI offense in Florida, you will face harsher consequences as compared to your first time. Beating the charges for a 2nd DUI offense are is even harder than the first time around, which is why hiring a criminal defense attorney is all the more important. The ‘look back’ period may affect the consequences of your 2nd offense DUI. If your 1st offense happened more than 5 years ago or you qualified for expungement, your 2nd DUI might be treated like your first. In some cases, a subsequent DUI will be identified as the 2nd offense, regardless of how much time has passed since the first conviction.
Classification of a 2nd offense DUI
Typically, a 2nd DUI offense is charged as a misdemeanor in Florida. Nonetheless, aggravating factors can turn the repeat offense into a third degree felony. The penalties for committing a felony are naturally much more severe; the purpose is to promote discipline and discourage offenders from driving while intoxicated again. Conviction for a 2nd DUI offense almost always results in a minimum mandatory jail sentence. If you get convicted, you will be subject to administrative and criminal penalties. However, a competent legal representative like DUI Defense Attorney in Sarasota, FL, might be able to help you avoid jail time and receive a probation sentence instead.
Administrative Penalties for 2nd DUI
Whenever someone is arrested for DUI, suspension of their driver’s license is among the initial consequences. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles normally confiscates a license if the driver’s BAC (blood alcohol content) is above the threshold, i.e. 0.08%. Driving privileges are withheld for one year if your license was suspended due to a prior DUI conviction. Another 6 months are added to the suspension period if you did not give consent to provide a sample for chemical DUI testing; the suspension will take effect even if you don’t get convicted.
When you receive charges for a second DUI offense in Florida, you are no longer eligible for obtaining a hardship license, also referred to as a ‘restricted license’. The hardship license, available to1st time offenders, permits one to drive with limitations, depending on their daily travel requirements. You are generally allowed to drive to work, school, get food supplies, and fulfill medical needs; you cannot drive casually or for recreational purpose. A DUI defense attorney can help attain a hardship hearing after the 2nd DUI, but you will have to challenge the suspension by a formal procedure. If you succeed in acquiring the special (hardship) license, you shall still be subject to 30 days of administrative suspension.
Criminal Penalties for 2nd DUI
You shall have to spend a minimum of ten days in jail if you are charged with a 2nd DUI offense within 5 years of a prior CUI conviction. The maximum duration of a jail sentence you might receive depends upon several factors of the case. You will be subject to no more than 9 months in jail for a standard DUI offense the second time around. A maximum of one year in jail is applicable if your BAC was 0.15% or higher, you were driving with a minor, or you caused an accident that did not lead to any serious damage. If the DUI related accident caused serious harm to someone’s life, you could be sentenced to up to 5 years in jail.
A standard 2nd offense DUI is subject to fines ranging between $1000-2000. If the 2nd DUI was accompanied by an aggravating factor, penalties may exceed $2000 and go up to$4000. If someone incurred severe injuries in an accident caused by your 2nd DUI offense, you may have to pay as much as $5000 in fines.
If the first DUI conviction took place within the last five years, the second DUI conviction will lead to a minimum of 5-year license suspension; the administrative suspension is separate from criminal suspension. It is mandatory for second time DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle for a minimum of one year. In addition, vehicle impoundment lasting at least 30 days applies to 2nd time offenders if their prior conviction was within the last 5 years.
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