Repeat DUI charges carry mandatory penalties that a first offense does not. The stakes are higher, and so is the value of an experienced defense.
A second or subsequent DUI is a different case than a first. Prior convictions trigger mandatory minimum jail time, longer license revocation, extended ignition interlock requirements, and, at a certain point, felony charges. Prosecutors treat these cases as priorities, which is exactly why the defense needs to be prepared to match that intensity.
How prior convictions are counted, and whether they qualify as priors at all, is itself a contested legal question that can reshape the exposure in a case.
Under Section 316.193 of the Florida Statutes, a second DUI conviction carries a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $2,000 and up to nine months of imprisonment. When the second conviction occurs within five years of a prior conviction, the statute requires a mandatory minimum of ten days in jail, a thirty-day vehicle impoundment, and placement of an ignition interlock device for at least one year.
A third conviction within ten years is charged as a third-degree felony. Penalties escalate further with additional priors and with an elevated blood or breath alcohol level of 0.15 or higher. Because these thresholds turn on dates and prior records, an accurate analysis of your history is essential.
Section 50-2206.13 of the D.C. Code increases penalties for repeat offenses. A second offense is punishable by a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, up to one year of incarceration, or both, and carries a base mandatory minimum of ten days, with additional mandatory days tied to a high alcohol concentration. A third offense carries a fine of $2,500 to $10,000 and a base mandatory minimum of fifteen days, again with enhancements.
The District also provides that three violations within five years can result in revocation of the privilege to drive, with reinstatement eligibility only after a set period. The layering of mandatory minimums makes early, careful case analysis critical.
The defense of a repeat DUI often begins with the prior itself. Was the earlier conviction valid? Does it legally qualify as a prior for enhancement purposes? Beyond that, the firm scrutinizes the current stop, the testing, and the procedure, the same way it would in any DUI case, because a weakness in the current charge can matter regardless of history.
Alec Kohn's background as a former Miami-Dade prosecutor and trial attorney informs how he approaches these files. You work directly with the attorney on your case, and the firm answers 24 hours a day.
The figures on this page are drawn from the following primary and secondary sources. Statutes and penalties change; this summary is reviewed by the firm and is not a substitute for legal advice on your specific matter.
