DUI 3: What is the Punishment for a DUI 3rd Offense in Kentucky?

This blog post is a continuation of our analysis of the different levels of punishment regarding the “enhanceable offense” of DUI in Kentucky.  After examining DUI 1^st and 2^nd, today we’re going to talk about the punishment associated with a DUI 3^rd.  If you still have any questions or concerns about the punishments associated with DUI 1^st or 2^nd, please feel free to go back over the past couple of blog posts, or call me if you would like a “real-time” answer.

All of this talk about punishment is certainly not meant to lead you to believe that EVERYONE who is charged with a DUI is punished.  There are a lot of ways to fight DUI charges, and if you have a decent Louisville DUI lawyer, they may even be able to get the charge completely dismissed.  And yes, I'm very comfortable with my job and my station in life.

If you are charged with a DUI, call a lawyer.  For example, me.

If you plead guilty, or are found guilty, of a DUI 3^rd in Kentucky, here’s what you can expect:

For a third offense within a five (5) year period, be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than twelve (12) months and may, in addition to fine and imprisonment, be sentenced to community labor for not less than ten (10) days nor more than twelve (12) months. If any of the aggravating circumstances listed in subsection (11) of this section are present, the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment shall be sixty (60) days, which term shall not be suspended, probated, conditionally discharged, or subject to any other form of early release[.]

In addition to the above, if you plead guilty to a DUI 3^rd in Kentucky, any decent Louisville DUI lawyer will tell you that you are facing a DUI service fee, a license suspension of 24 – 36 months, and alcohol/drug education classes.

You may have noticed that the statute above requires a mandatory minimum one month in jail, and can be up to one full year in the county clink.  Notice that the one month minimum jail time is doubled to Sixty days of incarceration if an “aggravating circumstance” is present.  This is what lawyers mean when they say someone is charged with an “Aggravated DUI” or a “DUI with an aggravator.”  The list of aggravating circumstances includes:

1) Operating a motor vehicle in excess of thirty (30) miles per hour above the speed limit;

2) Operating a motor vehicle in the wrong direction on a limited access highway;

3) Operating a motor vehicle that causes an accident resulting in death or serious physical injury as defined in KRS 500.080;

4) Operating a motor vehicle while the alcohol concentration in the operator's blood or breath is 0.15 or more as measured by a test or tests of a sample of the operator's blood or breath taken within two (2) hours of cessation of operation of the motor vehicle;

5) Refusing to submit to any test or tests of one's blood, breath, or urine requested by an officer having reasonable grounds to believe the person was operating or in physical control of a motor vehicle in violation of subsection (1) of this section; and

6) Operating a motor vehicle that is transporting a passenger under the age of twelve (12) years old.

A refusal under subsection (5) is NOT an aggravator for a DUI 1^st, but it IS an aggravator for a DUI 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th.  The explanation for this is extremely complicated, but trust me – that’s the truth.

There is no such thing as a “double aggravator.”  If you were driving your car down the wrong way of a limited access highway, you would be facing a mandatory minimum 60 days in jail.  However, if you refused to submit to a blood, breath or urine test (other than a PBT) AND you were driving the wrong way down a limited access highway, you would NOT be facing a mandatory minimum 120 days in jail.  There would only be a mandatory minimum 60 days jail time associated with the offense.

That about does it for our discussion of the punishments associated with DUI 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.  Next time we’ll be talking about the punishment associated with a DUI 4^th, which is the most serious of DUI offenses.

If you have been charged with a DUI 3^rd Offense in Louisville, Lexington, Elizabethtown, Frankfort, or the surrounding areas, call 502.618.4949 and speak with a Louisville DUI lawyer at Simms & Reed, PLLC.  The initial consultation is free.

Simms & Reed, PLLC.  Results.  As fast as the law will allow.


Also see http://www.duilawfirmlouisville.com/


Questions answered in this blog post:  What is the penalty for a DUI 3rd; how much jail time can I get for a DUI 3rd; how long will I lose my license for a DUI 3rd; what is an enhanceable offense; what is a DUI aggravator in Kentucky; where can I find a good DUI lawyer Louisville, Ky.; where can I find a good DUI lawyer Elizabethtown, Ky.; what is the difference between a DUI 3rd and DUI 4th?