What to Expect When Arrested For Your Second DUI
So you were arrested for your second DUI. Unfortunately, things change dramatically from your first DUI. Now, more than ever, You will need a skilled and component DUI attorney not only to navigate you through the complexity, but to save your driver’s license from being revoked and from going to jail. A good lawyer can often get both accomplished.
Similar to your first, there is still a civil side and a criminal side. We will discuss both briefly.
The Civil Side of a DUI – The Statutory Summary Suspension
If you refused all testing (i.e., breath, blood, and/or urine), then you are facing a 12-month suspension of your driver's license that is scheduled to start on the 46th day from your arrest. If you submitted to chemical testing and it came back with an illegal substance or a blood alcohol amount above .08, then your license is scheduled to be suspended for six months. In either circumstance, you are eligible to receive a BAIID, which will allow you to drive during your suspension.
However, if you had a prior DUI in the past five years, then you are no longer a first offender for summary suspension purposes. In this scenario, you are entitled to NO driving relief in the form of a BAIID. Also, if you refused testing, your license is scheduled to be suspended for three years. If you submitted to testing and it comes back positive or above a .08, then your license is scheduled to be suspended for one year.
In either scenario, a good DUI lawyer can often avoid any suspension at all. By quickly filing your paperwork, we can sometimes catch the state’s attorney off guard and get a suspension thrown out for something that easy. We have won countless suspensions just by ensuring that our clients act right away.
The Criminal Side of a DUI
While the summary suspension is going on, you still have the criminal portion to deal with. It is still a class A misdemeanor. The maximum you can receive on ANY class A misdemeanor is 364 days in the county jail and a $2,500 fine. The minimum you can receive will depend on the facts of the case. For example, if you refused testing, then the minimum is either five days in jail or 240 hours of community service. If you submitted to a breathalyzer, and you blew above a .16, then it is a minimum two days in jail in addition to the above.
The biggest problem for a second offender is that if you are found guilty, a conviction will enter onto your record. When that happens, the Illinois Secretary of State will receive notice. Once they receive notice, then your driver’s license will be revoked. A driver’s license revocation is like an indefinite suspension. There are no guaranteed end dates (like in a suspension). In many cases, it takes years to regain your normal driving privileges.
This all can be avoided or minimized. You will need a component DuPage County DUI defense attorney to fight for you. Police officers make mistakes. Prosecutors will sometime reduce charges to something lower, like reckless driving. Please do not wait, and contact Ramsell & Kunowski, L.L.C. immediately to get started.
