A second DUI conviction will typically be sentenced much more harshly than the first and you can expect to experience even less leniency than in your initial DUI case. A second offense DUI can hold serious ramifications for your future, including mandatory imprisonment. In the State of California, a second offense DUI carries a potential sentence of jail time, 3-5 years of probation, one and a half years of DUI education classes, SR22 (or high-risk) auto insurance, and a two year suspension of your driver’s license. In addition to these penalties, there are up to $1000 in fines as well, with ‘penalty assessments’ tacked on, thereby increasing the amount of money you owe. Additionally, you will have to fulfill another probation period, which will likely be much longer than your initial probation period, and you may be sentenced to an additional 180 days in jail for violating your original probation.
In all of these cases, the judge determines the sentencing for the defendant, and the judge is more likely to impose a harsher sentence if you violated the probationary period for your initial DUI. The probation violation will ‘trail’, or follow behind, the proceedings of the secondary DUI case in court. A secondary DUI conviction holds a high standard in court: the prosecution must overturn any reasonable doubt. Violation of your first DUI probation, however, is a different story. The prosecution merely has to prove that you are, ‘more likely than not’, in violation of your original probation, which is a much lower burden of proof than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’, meaning it is generally not too difficult for the prosecution to prove this.
In most cases, the original probationary terms that are violated during the secondary DUI charge are either violation of basic traffic laws, like running a stop sign, or driving after consuming any amount of alcohol or drug. Remember: after an initial DUI, operating a motor vehicle after any consumption of alcohol or drug, even that which is below the legal limit, is prohibited.