California DUI Law Will Give Repeat Offenders More Options
Mon, Jan 4, 2010
New California DUI Law
On July 1st, 2010, repeat DUI offenders may receive a bit of a break. Currently someone who receives a 2nd DUI will have their license removed for 2 years and are not able to apply for a restricted license for one full year. A person who is arrested for a 3rd DUI offense will have their drivers’ license revoked for 3 years with no ability to obtain a restricted license.
The new DUI law may be giving the multiple DUI offender group another option. For example, someone who receives their 2nd DUI may only have their license suspended for 90 days if they complete alcohol classes and have an IID installed. An IID is an Ignition Interlock Device that will not allow the car to start until the driver has blown a “clean” sample into the system. This will prevent the driver from operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. This will give DUI attorneys in Los Angeles another bargaining chip when fighting for their clients.
Even a person with a 3rd DUI conviction will be eligible for the program after a 6 month suspension as long as the act only involved an alcohol violation. If the accused is involved in an accident they will not be eligible for the program.
My sister had her 3rd DUI conviction, with a BAC of .12%. Our family pleaded for a 12 month sentence to a in patient recovery program. She has continued to drive drunk on a suspended license for several years. She has continually been slapped on the hand, but nothing big. However, now the judge says that if she violates her probation, she will get 5yrs. plus. He further said he would do whatever he had to to make sure she got the full extent of the punishment. OK, this is what I don’t understand…3rd dui offense besides fines, and DMV trouble, the maximum time the Judge said he could give her was 180 days. After that it goes to 5 years? Why such a difference in punishment from the 3rd to the 4th DUI? I feel like they have set my sister up to fail. She’s an alcoholic with a living problem. She can’t stay sober long enough to realize what she is doing to herself. The monetary fines mean nothing to her, cause she is disabled and doesn’t work. The DMV penalties apparently are not working, because she continually drives drunk everyday, no exaggeration. We don’t need easier laws, we need tougher laws before being sentenced to 5 yrs. Alcoholism is a disease, not a moral issue. We are sick, and need help. We have prop 36 for drug users, why don’t we have a program like that for alcoholics? If we could change the law to state that after the 2nd DUI, a mandatory year in a treatment facility should be put in place. If they leave or get kicked out, they go back to jail to finish that year. It worked for my son; he just graduated the Salvation Army Alcohol treatment program after 10 months. But, I had to beg his probation officer to make it mandatory. We as a people need to make stiffer laws regarding repeat offenders and the help available to them. Taking away their freedom is a big deal. My sister is not concerned with all the fines, or the fact she will have a 3 yr. suspension on her license. She just wants out of jail. She has been in for about 50 days, and the judge said she has to go into treatment, but because of the 180 days penalty, she can leave the treatment facility in less than 4 months. However, her next DUI will result in a 5 yr. prison term. That just doesn’t make sense to me.