A DUI prior conviction stays on your record and can be used against you as a prior for 10 years from the date of offense. It will make another DUI within 10 years of the offense a second offense. To be a third or fourth DUI offense, all of the priors must be within 10 years of the new offense.
While DUI offenses older than 10 years will not directly affect your new case, they can be considered by the Court and may increase penalties at the Court’s discretion. They do not mandatorily increase penalties and often Courts will not consider them. If someone has a long history of “Driving under the influence”, or DUI with injury with some convictions outside the last 10 years, a Court is usually concerned for public safety and those convictions may be considered for increasing a sentence. Even if a DUI prior is alleged, the District Attorney still must prove the prior and have the required certified records of conviction, rights waivers etc from the convicting Court. Often times this does pose a problem and may not be available especially from out of state Courts.
Penalties for a DUI with priors are much harsher by law. Call Attorneys Nicholas and William Christoph at 760-941-5720 for a free consultation for your DUI or DUI with priors. They have handled over 3,000 DUI case while located directly across from the Vista Courts for the last 32 years and have the experience to achieve the best result in your case.
