I was convicted of DWI 15 yrs ago, paid the fine and did the probation. 2 or 3 years ago I got a DWI 2 but it was plea bargained down to DWI 1. Now I have received my third DWI and am being charged with DWI 3. Would you please tell me what the number after the charge means? Is it the number of DWI's I have received or is it the degree of the charge? Because my first DWI was so long ago, will I be looking at jail time with this ticket?
Thank you,
1 Answer from Attorneys
It does not matter how the 2nd DWI was charged or convicted (whether as a 1st or 2nd), the third one is a felony. And, there is no relevance to time - whether it was 30 years ago, whether they were far apart, etc. (The only relevance is before 1982 one could get a deferred adjudication probation for DWI and if that happened, then the case could not be used for enhancements. Post 1982, there is no deferred for DWI.)
Because you got your 2nd DWI within 5 years of this one, you are looking at a substantial loss of driving privileges with a "hard" time which means no occupational. How the punishment will be handled depends on many factors including the facts surrounding the current DWI, etc.
You need a good lawyer ASAP.
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