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Orland Park Second Offense DUI Attorney

Will County DUI Defense Lawyer for Drunk Driving Arrests After a Previous DUI Conviction

When an individual is charged, and convicted, of a second DUI in the state of Illinois, harsh consequences follow. A first-time DUI offender is eligible for Court Supervision. This type of outcome allows the individual to:

  1. avoid a formal criminal conviction on their background and
  2. avoid driving privileges revocation.

The reason the individual's driving privileges would not be revoked is because the Secretary of State only takes adverse actions on one's driving privileges upon convictions, and Court Supervision is not a conviction if successfully completed.

However, Court Supervision is reserved for those who have not been previously convicted of, or granted Court Supervision (or any similar type of disposition requiring the individual to plead guilty) for, either Reckless Driving or DUI. These include similar offenses, even if out of state. For instance, if a Wisconsin resident had a prior Reckless Driving offense in Wisconsin (or an offense that is similar to Illinois' Reckless Driving statute), they would not be eligible for Court Supervision in Illinois if they were charged with DUI. What this ultimately means is that a conviction would be entered against the individual and the Secretary of State would revoke their driving privileges.

Moreover, Court Supervision in Illinois for a DUI or Reckless Driving offense is an "once-in-a-lifetime" outcome. If a person has previously received Court Supervision for these offenses, they are legally disallowed the same result for any subsequent DUI or Reckless Driving. It does not matter if the first Court Supervision for either offense was given 5 years ago or 50 years ago.

In addition to the lack of availability of Court Supervision for a second DUI, the law provides a mandatory minimum jail term of 5 days which is not subject to any type of credit. However, the law also allows the Courts to sentence someone to 240 hours of community service in lieu of the 5 day jail term.

There can also be aggravating factors tied to the second DUI which can increase the penalties, based on the amount of alcohol on the person's blood, breath or urine. If, during the course of a second DUI, the individual's blood alcohol content was .16 (twice the legal limit) or higher, there is an additional 2 day mandatory minimum jail term to be imposed. This 2 day mandatory minimum cannot be replaced with community service. This is in addition to the 5 days that can be imposed, meaning a second-time DUI offender could be serving one week in jail for the offense. On top of this, if a person's blood, breath or urine registers at .16 or higher during a second DUI offense, a mandatory minimum fine of $1,250.00 will be assessed against them, in addition to any other court costs or fees.

Contact Our Mokena Second-Time DUI Lawyer

While many who have previously had a DUI think that a second DUI will result in a slap on the wrist, they are unaware of the serious consequences that can follow without adequate representation. These include not only revocation of their driver's license, but mandatory jail time and hefty fines. You need an experienced Will County DUI attorney who will fight for you, so you do not lose your license or worse, spend time in jail. Contact our law office at 708-966-2408 for a consultation.

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