Sometimes, people say to themselves, “I don’t know if this is even worth doing.” Some people get discouraged to the point of wanting to give up. Every case is different and every person is different. An attorney needs to look at a person and talk to them about what their concerns are and what their needs are. A victory for one client may not be the same kind of victory for another client. You may be in a situation where just delaying the case and putting off the inevitable is a victory for one person and for another it would be completely unacceptable because of the consequences or collateral consequences.
Treating Each Case as an Individual Case and Each Client as an Individual Person
There are times when a person is able to fight and protect themselves to a certain point and then they realize that jail time is inevitable and that is actually the best option for them. Then it’s just coordinating that to make sure it is the right jail at the right time to be able to satisfy that particular client. We need to look at each case as an individual case and each person as an individual person.
The Difficult Aspects of Defending a 2nd Time DUI Offense in California
The most difficult thing to deal with on a second time DUI is that if there is going to be a conviction, there is mandatory jail time. That is the hardest thing to deal with to get around and to work with.
A Variety of Factors Can Influence the Outcome of a 2nd Time DUI Case
There are a lot of things that play into how a second time DUI is handled: whether one DUI is alcohol related and another is drug related, whether it is illegal drugs or prescription drugs for instance. A second time DUI can be reduced and can be minimized but there needs to be reason for it and that’s the attorney’s job to do everything they can to find justification for reductions or possible legal grounds for a dismissal. An attorney can negotiate with the prosecutor regarding the length of time between the current DUI and the prior DUI.
Arguments Can Be Made to Mitigate or Minimize the Effects of a Prior DUI
If it’s within 10 years, there’s a mandatory enhancement but if it’s more than 10 years, it’s something that can be argued. There are things that can be argued to mitigate or minimize the damage of a prior DUI. If somebody is suffering a different cause for a second time DUI (if the first DUI was alcohol and the second one was prescription medication for instance), there are mitigating factors that can come into play there. There is also a concern as to how old the DUI was. If it is within the last 3 or 5 years, the person may still be on probation for a prior DUI.
A 2nd Time DUI Offender Can Potentially Be Looking at a 2 Year Imprisonment
One who is currently on probation is going to be treated very differently by a judge and by a prosecutor than somebody who is off of probation. If someone is on probation when they pick up a new DUI, then they are looking at a probation violation and a new open case. Therefore, if someone were to be facing a probation violation on a first, they could be exposed to 6 months in jail and then a second time DUI has a maximum of a year. They could be looking at a year and a half just on the probation violation and the open DUI, if they were driving on a suspended license. Someone could be looking at a couple of years of county jail on a second time DUI.
Personal Attention
