OUI/DUI Second Offense Outcomes
If convicted, the standard disposition for a second offense OUI is not less than 60 days in a House of Correction (30 days mandatory), but not more than 2 ½ years incarceration; a fine of between $600-$10,000, and a two-year license suspension.
Alternative disposition for a second offense OUI would be 2 years’ probation, our Massachusetts DUI attorney explains, a 14-day confined treatment program paid for by the defendant and a two-year license suspension.
The Registry of Motor Vehicles also requires that the client complete the 14-day confined treatment program and be enrolled in the aftercare program before it will consider granting the 12-hour hardship license.
The penalties (whether a guilty finding after the trial or a plea prior to trial) for a second offense OUI are listed below. For a second or higher OUI offense, an Ignition Interlock device (IID) is required if a hardship license is obtained (an IID is also required during the suspension period only for a Cahill disposition). An IID is a small breathalyzer that is installed in your car. The device is about the size of a cell phone.
An IID is connected to the ignition system and prevents a car from starting unless the driver gives a passing deep lung air sample. The device tests the driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) by measuring the amount of alcohol in a subject’s breath. If the percentage is over .02%, the car will not start.
Standard Second Offender Disposition:
- Guilty disposition
- Jail time of not less than 60 days (30 mandatory), but not more than 2.5 years years
- Substantial fines ($600 to $10,000)
- Two-year driver’s license suspension with a work/education hardship considered in one year
- Installation of an IID for the entire period of the hardship, plus an additional two years after the license has been fully reinstated.
Alternative Second Offender Disposition (§24D):
- Guilty with two years’ probation
- 14-day in-patient treatment program (paid for by the defendant)
- Two-year driver’s license suspension with a work/education hardship considered in one year
- Installation of an IID for the entire period of the hardship, plus an additional two years after the license has been fully reinstated.