DUI sentencing courts impose a number of standard, and sometimes even case-specific, conditions upon a defendant upon DUI conviction. Some are affirmative conditions (to pay fines, complete an alcohol/drug evaluation, participate in alcohol/drug treatment or mental health treatment when applicable, and attend DUI victims panel. Others are prohibitive, like don’t commit law violations, don’t consume alcohol or drugs, don’t drive without a functioning ignition interlock device on your vehicle. Violation of any conditions imposed by the court will mean a review hearing for the judge to determine additional sanctions being imposed. Certain violations, however, result in mandatory penalties, with very little if any discretion allowed.
DUI
sentencing courts in impose a number of standard, and sometimes even
case-specific, conditions upon a defendant upon DUI conviction. Some are
affirmative conditions (to pay fines, complete an alcohol/drug
evaluation, participate in alcohol/drug treatment or mental health
treatment when applicable, and attend DUI victims panel. Others are
prohibitive, like don’t commit law violations, don’t consume alcohol or
drugs, don’t drive without a functioning ignition interlock device on
your vehicle. Violation of any conditions imposed by the court will mean
a review hearing for the judge to determine additional sanctions being
imposed. Certain violations, however, result in mandatory penalties,
with very little if any discretion allowed.
Pursuant to RCW
46.61.5055 (11)(A), there are now 5 violations of DUI or Physical
Control probation that require the court to impose a mandatory penalty.
The way the statute says that, upon a conviction for DUI, the sentencing
court must impose the following mandatory conditions (along with other
probation conditions the court deems appropriate but that are optional).
The mandatory conditions are the most dangerous ones to violate and
include:
(i) Not driving a motor vehicle within this state without a valid license to drive;
(ii)
not driving a motor vehicle within this state without proof of
liability insurance or other financial responsibility for the future
pursuant to RCW 46.30.020;
(iii) not driving or being in
physical control of a motor vehicle within this state while having an
alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more or a THC concentration of 5.00
nanograms per milliliter of whole blood or higher, within two hours
after driving;
(iv) not refusing to submit to a test of his or
her breath or blood to determine alcohol or drug concentration upon
request of a law enforcement officer who has reasonable grounds to
believe the person was driving or was in actual physical control of a
motor vehicle within this state while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drug; and,
(v) not driving a motor
vehicle in this state without a functioning ignition interlock device as
required by the department under RCW 46.20.720.
This statute
requires that for each violation of the above conditions found or
admitted to have been committed, the court is required to impose 30 days
of confinement and 30 additional days of license suspension. It is not
set by statute whether multiple violations of more than one of these 5
mandatory-30-days-jail sanctions requires concurrent or consecutive
sentencing, which is thus within the reviewing court’s discretion.
So,
by way of example, if a person on a DUI probation were to be caught
driving without proof of insurance, refused to take a breath test and
then provided a blood sample with an alcohol concentration in excess of
.08, that person would be looking at, at least, either 30 or 90 days of
confinement (depending upon whether the court imposes the multiple
30-day violations concurrently – running together at the same time, or
consecutively (back-to-back), and 90 additional days of license
suspension.
You must be very careful not to violate especially
these probation conditions. Your freedom and liberty are at stake if
you do.
