Beware: Driving Under Suspension (DUI-Related) Can Result in Incarceration

In my experience, clients charged with Driving Under Suspension (DUI-Related) are often quite surprised at the potential sentence they face. The law calls for, upon conviction, a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 days in jail. A judge may also decide to impose as much as 90 days incarceration for this offense. To be guilty of this offense, one must be serving a DUI license suspension and be caught driving. Conviction for the offense does not require that the driver be intoxicated or driving erratically at the time of being caught behind the wheel – simply driving at all is sufficient.

Many counties in which I practice offer those charged with this offense the opportunity to serve the sentence on house arrest rather than in prison. This is, obviously, preferable to most people, but it can also be quite costly. These counties require that the person on house arrest have an ankle monitor on so that, if they stray from their home, the authorities will know about it. The defendant is responsible to pay a fee for the monitor, which is usually at least several hundred dollars.

A police officer or district attorney may also cut a suspended driver a break and offer a plea deal whereby the defendant pleads to Driving Under Suspension not DUI-Related, which does not carry a mandatory minimum jail sentence unless it is the sixth or subsequent time the person has been caught driving under suspension.

If you have been charged with Driving Under Suspension, contact Scaringi Law’s experienced defense attorneys 717 657 7770 to review your case, determine if there is a valid legal defense to the charge, and, if not, workout the best deal possible to hopefully keep you out of prison.