What Happens If I Have Multiple DUIs?

If somebody is convicted of multiple DUIs in California, they are facing mandatory jail time as well as probation classes and an ignition interlock device in Los Angeles County. A first-time DUI does not include mandatory jail time in most cases. However, a second-time DUI does, and the way to get around the mandatory jail time is to avoid a second DUI conviction. If somebody gets a second DUI, the minimum jail time according to state law is 96 hours. The jail time on a second offense goes from 96 hours up to a maximum of one year. If someone were to be convicted of a third DUI, the mandatory minimum jail time is 120 days.

If somebody gets a fourth DUI, that is typically filed as a felony, and the person will be looking at state prison time rather than county jail. With multiple offenses, there is also a license suspension that is longer than if it was a first-time offense. If somebody gets a typical second DUI, they may lose the license with a hard suspension for 90 days or it could be a year, depending on the circumstances. If somebody is on probation and gets a second DUI, there would be a hard suspension of a year where the person could not drive for over a year with no ignition interlock option.

On a third offense, the hard suspension would go to six months. These time periods constantly change depending on different laws and different programs that may be put into effect. Of course, the more DUI convictions and the closer together that the convictions are, the more likely a prosecutor and a judge are going to be looking for significant jail time. If someone were to get a second DUI, the maximum would be one year if they were on probation for the first when they picked up the second. Their exposure or amount of time that they would be looking at would be one year on the second plus the probation violation up to six months on a first-time DUI.

If they were on probation for a second and got a third, their exposure will be two years, and a judge could sentence somebody to that time. Those are some of the things that someone facing multiple DUIs would have to deal with.