Going To Jail For a DWI

Answer:

Anytime we have a client who comes in and wants to retain me for a DUI, at the top of their list is the question, “Will I go to jail if I get convicted for a DUI in Orlando, Florida?” The answer is it depends. It depends mostly on the severity of the DUI that’s being charged. Under Florida law there is several types of DUIs and what specifically the sanctions are for each charge.

For example, you have a first-time DUI, a second-time DUI. The second-time DUIs are broken up into two; you have a second-time DUI within five years of the first DUI, and you have a second-time DUI that’s outside of the five years. Then you have your third-time DUIs. There are several types of DUIs that could affect the possibility that you may or may not go to jail.

For a first-time DUI it is unlikely that you are going to go to jail, unless you are placed on probation for the DUI and you commit another DUI while you’re on that probation. Generally speaking, with a first-time DUI, you are not going to find yourself in jail, aside from the initial arrest on the day or night of your arrest for the DUI. In our experience, jail sentences for first-time DUIs almost never happen, and they only happen in situations where a person in placed on probation for that DUI and they’ve somehow violated it.

When you come into a second-time DUI, specifically within five years, then, unfortunately, jail is a 10-day mandatory sentence in Florida, and it just keeps going up from there. A third DUI is a mandatory 30 days in jail. These are mandatory in the sense that the law in Florida says if a person is convicted for the second DUI within five years, they must be sentenced to 10 days in jail; same with a third time DUI. If they’re convicted of the third-time DUI, they must be sentenced to 30 days in jail.

It is very important to get an attorney who is knowledgeable on how to defend DUIs involved in your case right away. They can get you the help that you need. They can help you through the process. They can help find defenses for you and help defend your case in a way that can lessen the impact of these DUIs on your record going forward. For example, there could be an alternative pleas or negotiations to a first-time DUI, maybe to a different type of crime, or you can even get the crime dismissed all together which would then prevent that DUI from being added to a subsequent DUI if you were to somehow get one in the future.

There are different ways an attorney can help you in getting your case resolved and to help better protect you in the future if you find yourself in that situation again. If you have any other questions about DUIs and whether or not you’re looking at jail time for your DUI, please contact the Victory Law Firm.