Santa Barbara law is getting stricter and stricter on DUI and DWI offenses, the consequences of a second DUI arrest are significantly greater then a first DUI violation in the city of Santa Barbara. You will need a Santa Barbara DUI lawyer which will fight for your rights.
The consequences of a second DUI offense in the city of Santa Barbara can be all or some of the following:
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Up to two year suspension of your driver?s license
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Up to one year in jail
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Fines in excess of $2,500
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Community service including morgue service
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Up to five years probation
As well as these prohibitions on your life, you may have to attend alcohol classes for as long as 18 months and enter re-hab; the choice is up to the prosecutor and the court.
Jail time is dependent to a great extent on the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. In the city of Santa Barbara it may be possible for a Santa Barbara DUI lawyer to negotiate a plea which would eliminate jail time in favor of electronic monitoring or house arrest.
There are a host of things that have an impact on the sentence imposed for a second time DUI offense. Alternatives to jail such as electronic monitoring, work furlough programs, SCRAM etc have very strict requirements attached to them, in many cases the offender will not be eligible for these programs, and hence they will not be offered. When new laws or amendments to existing laws are passed, the sentencing expectations and alternatives also change. The change in the law may help your Santa Barbara DUI lawyer keep you out of jail, or might make his job a lot more difficult. That is why it is very important to have an attorney that is local, and an attorney that is up to date on all of the new local rules and laws.
The ten day deadline:
From the day you are arrested for your second DUI offense in the city of Santa Barbara, your Santa Barbara DUI lawyer has ten days to contact the DMV and ask for a hearing to fight the possibility of a two year suspension of your driver?s license. If the request for a DMV hearing is not made within 10 days of your arrest, your license will be suspended without further ado. If the license you hold is commercial, you will be banned from commercial driving for life.
If your second arrest came while you are still under probation for your first offense, you will be ineligible to carry a restricted license, furthermore the court may order you to go back to jail.
If you are on probation when the second DUI arrest is made in the city of Santa Barbara, the seriousness of the charge becomes considerably greater and the outcome can be more painful. There is no easy answer on how you can fight these charges; the only hope is that once your Santa Barbara DUI lawyer is fully informed of all the circumstances, he can see an area of possible contention at the court your case is assigned to.