The bottom line is that anybody who knows anything about DUIs knows that the legislature has indicated there is a mandatory minimum of ninety-six hours in jail if you pick up a second-time DUI in Los Angeles County.

There are ways around this county jail sentence because many people are afraid to go into the county jail because of all of the violence and different things that are going on in there. There is the option of getting private jail time, which allows many jails in Los Angeles County to charge a fee for you to stay in their facility. Then they'll sign off for you, and then the judge will accept that, assuming that's part of your deal as serving your ninety-six hours.

A lot of times, what I do if I can convince the prosecutors and judge to give private jail on my client's DUI case in LA, then what we have them do if they only get the bare minimum ninety-six hours, we'll have them typically do it in two forty-eight-hour blocks, so they'll surrender on a Friday. Then, the police will release them on a Sunday. Then they do that for two weekends, and they've covered their ninety-six hours. If they work during the week, they're still able to do their job and don't have any issues.

Another benefit of this option is the sense of control it provides. By paying for private jail time, you know exactly when you'll be released, allowing you to plan your life around it and minimize its impact.

Only some people are eligible for it. It just depends on the circumstances of your case – how your attorney handles it, what your criminal record looks like, the extent of what you did related to your DUI case, and several other factors that, again, are fact-dependent on your particular DUI.

Sometimes, I advise clients against getting this private jail if there's too much jail time to do. For example, a sixty-day sentence in a private jail is pretty tricky because one, you know you're going to have to do the full sixty days, and two, you have to pay for it.

It's about $80.00 a day in many of these jails, and three, you could take the same sixty days, do it in county jail, and probably be out within a day or two, especially if you're a female. They're so overcrowded right now in Los Angeles County.

People are serving only a fraction of their time, and then they retire. In that scenario, instead of paying hundreds of dollars and doing the full sixty days, you could get out within a couple of days and pay nothing.

Given the complexity of the factors that determine eligibility for private jail, it's crucial to have a detailed discussion with your attorney. Their guidance and expertise can provide the support and reassurance you need to navigate the best course of action for your second or third DUI.

Mandatory Minimum Sentence on Second-Time DUI

There is a mandatory minimum of ninety-six hours, up to a year in a second. On the third, it's a minimum of 120 days up to a year, and if you violate probation, you could face an additional year.

So, these DUI cases start to get serious, and the reason they do is that lives are at stake as far as the legislature, the police, the prosecutors, and the judges are concerned. If people drink and drive, they kill people on the road. They injure people and cause significant bodily injury to them.

So, the bottom line is that jail is the best deterrent because nobody wants to go to jail. It's scary. You could lose your job and lose all sorts of things when you're in jail, and you can't do anything in there.

Pleading Down to Wet or Dry Reckless

So, suppose you've got a DUI in Los Angeles County and are concerned about going to the county jail, and trying to avoid that, and do private jail or come up with some other angle, depending on the circumstances of your case. In that case, another chance to prevent that county jail sentence for a second-time DUI in Los Angeles is if the attorney can convince the prosecutor not to make you plead for a second-time DUI.

If you plead to a wet reckless, a dry reckless, or a speed contest, then that does not trigger the ninety-six-hour mandatory jail sentence. This means that instead of being convicted of a DUI, you could potentially plead to a lesser charge, such as reckless driving or a speed contest, which carries less severe penalties. This is another significant factor that could help you out.

But the bottom line is this: if you have a DUI, it's terrifying, and you need to get in front of a great criminal defense attorney – someone who does a lot of DUIs. I've been doing this for twenty-five years.

I have you come in. We sit down and review all the facts and details of the case, and I try to provide you with a straightforward answer about what you're facing and some of the tactics we can use to do damage control and help you. Then, we put our plan together.

Having a strategic plan in place from the beginning can help manage the fear and uncertainty that often accompany a DUI case. Once we've agreed on the necessary steps and strategies, it's my responsibility to execute the plan and work towards keeping you out of the county jail.

Alcohol Program

The worst-case scenario is that you may have to serve some jail time, and if you don't want to do it in LA County jail, which I don't blame you, we try to get you a private jail or some other resolution. Another option could be a long-term alcohol program, perhaps a live-in alcohol program. This is a residential program where you would live on-site for a certain period, receiving intensive treatment and counseling to address your alcohol use. These programs are designed to address the underlying issues that may have contributed to the DUI, and completing them could potentially reduce or even eliminate your jail time.

There are all sorts of different angles that can be worked out if you're an attorney who knows what they're doing, has been down this road before, and has had success in these DUI cases and keeping people out of county jail.