Difference Between Second and Third Offense DUIs In DC

A third DUI charge in Washington, DC is a serious offense that carries an array of severe penalties including fines, jail time, and demerit points on your license. As a result, if you are accused it is important you consult with a DC DUI lawyer to discuss your case and how to proceed. Below is information you should know about how a third offense differs from a second DUI. Call today to learn more.

Penalties For Third Offense DUI’s

The penalties increase with every consecutive conviction that you get both as a statutory matter and when dealing with the DMV. Concerning administrative license suspensions, you can expect a longer suspension or revocation period, and with the court, there is going to be a greater mandatory minimum jail sentence. With third and greater DUI cases, you also expose yourself to a greater chance of getting a jail sentence that is significantly more serious than the mandatory minimum with each consecutive conviction that you have.

In all of those situations, whether it be a first offense DUI or a fifth offense DUI, a good DUI attorney is going to be looking for similar things. Your attorney is going to be making sure that the officers did their investigations properly and attack the government’s case if they didn’t. Most importantly, your attorney is not going to just accept what the government has to say or what the officers have to say about what happened. He or she is going to look for any and all evidence available to really attack the government’s case.

How Does The Court Treat Third Offense DUIs Compared to Second and First Offenses

DC courts treat third DUI charges very, very seriously. It becomes increasingly difficult to convince the judge to be lenient and view the behavior as an aberration when it is a third or greater DUI charge. They will be very skeptical of any arguments, and it will be all but impossible to demonstrate that the offense in question is an isolated incident (or that it is a “one-time” mistake).

Thus, in third DUI cases, it becomes increasingly difficult to convince the prosecution and the court to take it easy on the defendant. But this doesn’t mean it’s impossible. This is why individuals facing third DUI charges should hire an experienced DC defense attorney who can look opportunities to minimize the damage.

Sometimes a conviction cannot be avoided, but if you are going to be convicted, you want to make sure your attorney is doing everything possible to convince the court to view you as an individual as opposed to just another DUI defendant.