Multiple DWI Penalties

Question: What are the penalties for multiple DWI charges?

Answer:

If it’s your second DWI, then it is a Class A misdemeanor and it’s up to one year in jail. In most cases, on a second DWI, the worst case is that you’ll end up with being placed on probation. If you have two or more prior DWIs, then your third is a felony; there’s a high risk of going to prison. What I usually recommend to people when they come in and they have multiple prior DWIs, is that they need to be proactive. They need to absolutely quit drinking. They need to start going to AA. If they have the money, the need to go to treatment, in-patient if possible. A judge is going to look at that person and think they’re high-risk to the community, they’re high-risk to the judge’s position, they’re high-risk to the DA, and so you need to do what you can to make yourself look low-risk. If we do all the things we need to do, if it ends up that you have to work out some sort of plea bargain on a felony DWI, in most cases, you can end up being placed on probation and avoiding prison.