What Are The Potential Punishments For A DUI Conviction?
Introduction
For misdemeanor DUIs, there are different penalties. For the impaired to the slightest degree DUI and for the 0.08 just above the legal limit DUI, the sentences are 10 days in jail, $1,500 in fines and an interlock device that must be installed on your car for six months. Some judges will also require you to go to a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) program or do community service.
For extreme DUIs, 0.15 and above, the penalty is 30 days of jail, a $2,500 fine instead of the $1,500, alcohol screening costs, the MADD program or community service and one year of the interlock device. When it goes up to a super extreme DUI, the jail term goes up to 45 days, penalties of $3,500, the MADD program, alcohol screening and treatment classes, along with 18 months of the interlock device on your car. For felony DUIs, the penalties can be much more severe. For most aggravated DUIs, the statute will require four months of prison. This doesn’t mean, however, that you are necessarily going to prison for a first time aggravated DUI. It can be reduced down to what’s called a DUI Endangerment Combo, which means you are getting charged with an endangerment felony and a misdemeanor DUI versus a simple aggravated felony DUI.
Those DUI penalties can be reduced and more resemble the misdemeanor type of charges. So you can still get jail time, but you are not going to serve it in prison; and while you’re in jail, you may be able to get work release or home detention. But that’s all subject to the facts of the case and definitely subject to negotiation. Of course, if you get a second time DUI, the penalties all go up considerably. They can go up to basically 180 days for a second time super extreme, which is the maximum allowable under the law. It’s the full sentence for a misdemeanor conviction.
Arizona has very likely the toughest DUI laws in the entire country. Of course, if you get a second time DUI or an aggravated DUI, your driver’s license is revoked. There is no license suspension: it’s revoked, and you are no longer allowed to drive until you file with the MVD to get your driver’s license restored, which is a separate process.
Are There Any Alternative Or Diversion Programs For DUI Offenders In Arizona?
There are alternatives, but they are not for the everyday general population. For example, if you are in a veteran’s court, they may be able to work something out with you. Not every court has veterans’ programs, so for the average individual who doesn’t have a whole lot of extenuating circumstances, the penalties are mandated by statute. So if somebody comes in with a DUI and they plead guilty to it, by statute, the judge has to propose jail, the fines are mandatory, and the license suspension or revocation is mandatory, which is why it’s so important to not end up with a DUI conviction.
Most people would prefer to do community service or pay triple the fines to avoid going to jail, but it just doesn’t work like that. The law says that these things are going to be mandatory. So a defense attorney will try to find a basis to dismiss the case or to preclude the blood evidence or employ some sort of a defense to reduce the DUI to a different type of a violation, such as Reckless Driving. This is a much more lenient type of a charge as it doesn’t have any mandatory jail, mandatory fines or a mandatory interlock device. It still is a criminal charge, but it doesn’t automatically carry the same penalties as a DUI.
For more information on Penalties For A DUI Conviction, a free initial consultation with our Scottsdale DUI Lawyers is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 602-497-3088 today.
