Prosecutors take second offense DUI charges seriously and may handle them differently than a first offense depending on the facts of your case and your criminal history. If you have a higher blood alcohol level, one of the two heightened categories, then you will have mandatory minimum jail time that you will be facing.
Additionally, if are in a situation where it is your second offense within either five or 10 years, you will face harsher penalties than you would for a first offense DUI conviction and should consult with a Chantilly DUI lawyer immediately to begin building a defense.
The penalties for a second offense DUI are going to depend on the facts of someone’s case, such as their blood alcohol level, and also their criminal history. Second offense DUI charges are going to be heard in the General District Court of the Fairfax County Courthouse, just as for first offenses. If it is someone’s second offense DUI, they will face the typical DUI penalties, which could be up to a year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.
The heightened BAC also would apply to that. If it is between 0.15 and 0.20, then they will face an additional five days of mandatory minimum jail time. If it is over 0.20, then they will face an additional 10 days of mandatory minimum jail time.
Further, if it is their second offense DUI within ten years then they can face up to a year in jail, up to a fine of $2,500, and an additional 10 days of mandatory minimum jail time. Someone is going to have a heightened mandatory minimum if they are facing their second DUI within ten years. If it is even more recent and they are facing their second DUI within five years, they are going to face the same potential penalties of up to a year in jail, up to $2,500 in fines, and a mandatory minimum of 20 days in jail as mandated by statute. This will be in addition to the mandatory minimums that could be prescribed by their BAC level as well.
After a second offense DUI charge, your driver’s license is going to be suspended. Depending on the facts of your case, it could be suspended for a longer period of time than one year, but usually, it will be suspended for one year. If you have a conviction, you cannot challenge the suspension of a license. If you are not convicted of the DUI, you can get your license back.
You can apply for a restricted license after you have been charged with a second offense DUI in Chantilly, but it is less likely that the judge will give it to you. By law, a person convicted of a second offense within five years is not eligible for a restricted license until 12 months past the conviction date. The overall term of suspension is three years.
Courts in Chantilly treat second offense DUI charges seriously. It is alarming to them when somebody has been arrested for a second offense DUI, because the way they interpret that is that this individual did not learn anything the first time around when they were arrested for a DUI the first time. Prosecutors no longer offer diversion programs or probation on the second offense.
As a result, the judge will likely to want to impose a harsher sentence because they are going to think that this person needs to be deterred. DUI offenders are considered a danger to the community, and so when somebody is committing multiple DUI offenses, that is something that the court works to prevent. To protect the community, they may give a harsher sentence to the individual arrested just to prove a point.