As you've likely experienced with a first-time DUI, the legal system takes these offenses with the utmost seriousness. DUIs are not just crimes; they are political issues that demand public attention and punishment. The potential consequences of driving under the influence are severe, and the system is designed to prevent such tragedies.

If you're on probation for a DUI and you're facing a second offense, the judge and prosecutors will view this as a serious issue that needs immediate attention. The potential for harsher penalties is real, and it's crucial to address this problem with the help of experienced legal counsel.

They're going to address it by placing you in custody as long as they possibly can to try to impress upon you how dangerous it is to drink and drive and to make it a deterrence so that you will not do it again.

However, technically and procedurally, if you drink and drive while you're on first probation, then you'll violate that first-time probation. If it's a first offense, you'll face up to six months in custody for the probation violation alone. That is on top of looking at up to a year for the new second-time DUI and other potential ramifications that can come along with that.

The open case will be treated more severely than a regular second-time DUI because you're still on probation. You've been ordered not to drink and drive, and yet you've continued to do so. It's crucial to demonstrate your commitment to change to the court, as this can significantly impact the outcome of your case.

So, you're going to be facing harsh treatment from the judge who has the probation violation and the judge who has the open case. Typically, in LA County, they will combine the two points, and your lawyer will have to deal with both of those cases simultaneously to resolve the issue.

If there's a jury trial in the case, they will wait and see whether you're found guilty or innocent on the new issue before they do anything with the probation violation. Even if you were technically found innocent of the probation violation, you could still be violated on your probation if they can prove that you drank with any measurable amount of alcohol in your system.

Punishments for Second DUI While On Probation for a First DUI

Often, if people continue to drink and drive while on probation, the prosecutors and judges perceive that they have a terrible alcohol problem. This could cause them to think the person needs to go to jail for a long time or be taken out of the community in a residential live-in alcohol program.

Not only can the public be protected from them because they're in custody in a residential live-in program, but also the person can get help for the root problem, which is obviously, from their perspective, alcohol abuse.

So, that's undoubtedly one potential punishment that a person can avoid to avoid jail time. Also, they will make you do an 18-month alcohol program—the legislature mandates this—and the Department of Motor Vehicles will also require it for you ever to be able to get your driver's license back.

There is typically a fine of approximately $390, plus a penalty assessment, which usually works out to somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000 once the fine is added, along with all the various fees that the courts collect to sustain themselves.

Other potential penalties can include attending AA meetings; they can also require you to perform Caltrans work, which involves roadwork on the side of the freeway, and community service. They can make you visit the hospital and morgue to see what happens when people drink and drive.

They can make you do a one-day seminar by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which shows you the ramifications of a DUI. Many other punishments can be imposed on someone charged with a DUI, depending on the specific circumstances of their actions and the type of behavior they were involved in.

To get the best possible resolution and avoid some of the harsh penalties that can come with a DUI case, you're going to want to find an attorney who has handled probation violations and second-time DUIs in the courthouse where your case is pending.

That attorney will be able to get a better feel for what you're looking at and exactly what you can do to help the attorney achieve the best possible resolution for your second-time DUI case.

Defending Second DUI While on Probation

I have people come into the office and sit down with me. We review all the specifics of their case, and ultimately, our goal is to understand why they're back in this position again. Why have they gotten another DUI while they're on probation?

These are the types of questions the prosecutor and judge will ask. Once we get to the why, we'll ask, 'Okay, what can be done to ensure this never happens again?'

What can we come up with to assure the court that you're not going to drink and drive anymore and that you're not going to put the public at risk? Because when you think about this, what the courts and prosecutors are concerned about when they do these DUI cases – second offense, third offense, fourth offense – they're worried that you're going to kill somebody out on the road, and then whoever gets that case is going to be looking back and say – hey, how come the judge or prosecutor didn't do anything about this person? The writing was on the wall, and they didn't figure out how to stop this person from killing somebody.

So, if you look at things from that perspective, when we start to build a case, we either create a strategy to get you the best resolution through plea bargaining with the judge and prosecutor.

Then you can see that we're going to have to show them that this was an aberration, that it's not going to happen again, and that you've got a specific plan to show them how you're going to deal with this problem. They can trust that you will not be back in this situation again and that the public will be safe.

This takes time; it requires letters of recommendation from people who know you through your job. It takes showing the judge getting a little personal – giving your version of events about what happened and why you find yourself in this position, and that you weren't given that much of a chance on probation and they should give you one more chance because you will show that you can be a productive member of society and not get yourself in this position again.

Call an Experienced Lawyer

Therefore, a good strategy is to sit down with your attorney and provide them with an honest account of what happened and what you can do to prevent it from happening again. Your attorney also needs to tell you what you can do to help them achieve the best result for you and give you some peace of mind about what can be done to help you.

Because you have two problems, you have to deal with the prosecutors on the new case – they're typically going to weigh in heavily on what happens to you. Two, you're going to have to deal with the judge on the probation violation because judges control probation violations in DUI cases in LA County.

So, two different entities have to be dealt with, so you must get an attorney to deal with both of these entities effectively in your DUI probation violation case.