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PENALTIES
HAVE INCREASED: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING CHARGED WITH DUI/DWI TODAY.
The four
possible DWI/DUI charges carry substantially different maximum penalties.
The most basic charge, DWI, is classified as a class B misdemeanor and a
crime. Although you cannot go to jail for a simple first-offense DWI
conviction, both DWI 2nd offense and aggravated DWI each carry the
possibility of a year in jail. If you are charged with felony aggravated DWI
based on serious bodily injury (including to yourself), you face up to
seven years in prison; a fourth-offense DWI is also a felony.
FIRST
OFFENSE DWI
A
regular, first-offense DWI conviction is punishable by a fine of between
$500.00 and $1,200.00, plus a standard penalty assessment of 20% of the
amount of the fine, and a mandatory minimum license loss of ninety days,
with a maximum loss of two years. The minimum license loss that the Court
may impose is nine months, but six months of that period may be suspended
by the Court if you enter into a mandatory alcohol treatment program within
forty-five days of the date of your conviction; your failure to enter the
program in a timely fashion will prevent the court and the Department of
Safety from restoring your license sooner than nine months unless you can
demonstrate extenuating circumstances to the division of health and human
services.
In
certain unusual circumstance such as having a prior DWI on your record
within the last ten years (even though you are not formally charged with
DWI, 2nd offense), you face substantially higher minimum penalties plus a
seven-day residential treatment program. If you are under twenty-one years
of age at the time of the offense, you face a minimum revocation of one
year, and if you are under twenty, in addition to the one year minimum
imposed by the Court, you face and additional loss that can vary from
twenty to ninety days, depending on your prior record.
Upon
conviction of any DWI offense, you also must complete a state-approved DWI
training course prior to restoration of your license or operating
privilege. For a first offense DWI, you must attend and complete a
state-approved 20-hour program and any recommended aftercare, including
attendance at AA or further alcohol treatment. Some of these programs meet
in the evening, some on weekends.
AGGRAVATED
DWI
The more
serious charge of aggravated DWI may be brought against you if certain
specified circumstances exist, the most common of which is if a chemical
test shows an alcohol concentration of 0.16% or more; you also may be
charged with aggravated DWI if you were in excess of thirty miles an hour
over the speed limit, or attempted to flee or elude the police, or if you
were transporting someone under the age of sixteen at the time of the
offense. Aggravated DWI is a criminal offense, a class A misdemeanor,
unless you are charged with a more serious felony for having caused serious
bodily injury (including injury to yourself) while under the influence of
alcohol or drugs. If convicted of a misdemeanor aggravated DWI, you will be
fined between $750.00 and $2000.00, plus mandatory penalty assessment of
20% of the amount of your fine. You will be sentenced to a minimum of three
days in the County House of Correction, up to a maximum of one year,
immediately followed by seven days in the Multiple DWI Intervention
Detention Center (MOP); in the case of a felony based on serious bodily
injury, the minimum jail sentence is 14 consecutive days, followed by seven
days in the Multiple DWI Intervention Detention Center (MOP). If convicted
of aggravated DWI, you will receive a license loss of between one and two
years; if you are convicted of aggravated DWI based upon your transporting
a person under the age of sixteen, you must be sentenced to the maximum
license loss of two years. In other aggravated DWI’s, the minimum license
loss that the Court may impose is eighteen months, but six months of that
period may be suspended by the Court if you enter into a mandatory alcohol
treatment program within forty-five days of the date of your conviction;
your failure to enter the program in a timely fashion will prevent the
court and the Department of Safety from restoring your license sooner than
eighteen months unless you can demonstrate extenuating circumstances to the
division of health and human services. Prior to restoration, you must have
completed the Multiple Offender Program or an approve seven-day residential
treatment program; you are also required to begin following any treatment
recommendations within 60 days of the date you complete the program.
Finally, an aggravated DWI conviction will result in the requirement that
you install and maintain, at your own expense, an alcohol ignition
interlock device for a period of one to two years following restoration of
your license.
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Everyone should contact a lawyer as soon as possible after a DWI arrest. Contrary to popular belief, many people are found not guilty of DWI.
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DWI
SECOND OR THIRD
DWI
second, sometimes called subsequent offense, is a crime, a Class A
misdemeanor, and must be based on a prior conviction for DWI within ten
years of the date of the offense. If you are charged with a second offense
DWI that occur between two and ten years after your first conviction you
face a mandatory minimum sentence of three days in the County House of
Correction, with up to a year's imprisonment in the discretion of the
Judge, immediately followed by seven days in the New Hampshire Multiple DWI
Offender Intervention Detention Center, an in-patient alcohol treatment and
incarceration facility located in Laconia, N. H; if your prior DWI
conviction is within two years of the date of the second arrest, you must
serve a minimum of thirty days if convicted, once again followed by the
seven days in the Multiple DWI Offender Intervention Detention Center. DWI,
2nd offense also carries a three-year license loss, both maximum and
minimum, a minimum fine of $750.00, up to a maximum of $2,000.00, plus a
20% penalty assessment. If you are convicted of a second-offense DWI which
occurred within two years of the date of your first conviction, you face a
minimum mandatory jail sentence of thirty days, immediately followed by
seven days in the Multiple Offender Program. If you are charged with a
third offense based on two prior DWI convictions, you also face higher
mandatory minimum penalties, including thirty days in jail and attendance
at a residential alcohol treatment program of up to 28 days, and an
indefinite license loss, but no less than five years. In addition, you will
be required to install and maintain, at your own expense, an alcohol
ignition interlock device for a period of one to two years following
restoration of your license.
FELONY
DWI Fourth-time
DWI offenders face a felony conviction and a possible seven years in State
Prison. The minimum jail sentence is 30 days and you must also complete a
residential treatment program of up to 28 days. You also may face a felony
charge if you cause serious bodily injury to anyone, including yourself,
while operating under the influence of alcohol or at or in excess of the
statutory BAC limit applicable to you (See aggravated DWI above). In the
case of any felony the license loss is indefinite, but no less than seven
years.
ALCOHOL
COUNSELING
Upon
conviction of any DWI offense, you also must complete a state-approved DWI
training course prior to restoration of your license or operating
privilege. For a first offense DWI, you must attend and complete a
state-approved 20-hour program and any recommended aftercare, including
attendance at AA or further alcohol treatment. Some of these programs meet
in the evening, some on weekends.
For an
aggravated DWI misdemeanor conviction, you must now complete a seven-day
residential treatment program at the State's Multiple DWI Offender
Detention Center in Laconia or upon granting of a motion by the Court, an
approved seven-day residential treatment program; although the law provides
that the sentence must be served within 24 days of your conviction, currently
the MOP facility is booked several months in advance and you will not be required
to attend until there is a vacancy; the MOP sentence is to be served
immediately after the minimum three-day sentence in the County House of
Correction. If you are convicted of felony aggravated DWI based on serious
bodily injury, the minimum jail sentence increases to 14 days, followed by
the seven-day multiple offender program.
For a
2nd offense DWI, you are sentenced to complete a one-week residential
treatment program at the State's Multiple DWI Offender Detention Center in
Laconia; that sentence must be served within 24 days of your conviction and
follows a minimum of three days in the County House of Correction. It is
possible to obtain Court permission to attend an approved seven-day
residential treatment program at a facility other than the State facility,
and in that event, the jail sentence and the residential treatment program
do not have to be served together, once again with permission of the Court.
Anyone with more than one previous conviction may be sentenced to a
residential treatment program of up to 28 days.
For
either a second offense or an aggravated DWI, you must begin to follow any
treatment recommendations from your seven-day treatment program within 60
days after completion of the program.
DRIVERS UNDER 21 BEWARE: IF
YOU ARE UNDER 21 AT THE TIME OF YOUR OFFENSE YOU FACE A MINIMUM MANDATORY
ONE-YEAR LICENSE LOSS AND MAY ALSO BE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL LICENSE LOSS
IMPOSED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY. MORE
INFORMATION.
HOLDERS OF COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
LICENSE BEWARE: DWI AND
CERTAIN OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE CONVICTIONS, AS WELL AS REFUSING TO SUBMIT TO A
CHEMICAL TEST, WILL RESULT IN A LENGTHY REVOCATION OF YOUR CDL, EVEN IF YOU
WERE NOT OPERATING A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE. DO NOT CONSIDER PLEADING GUILTY TO
ANY MOTOR VEHICLE OFFENSE UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT EFFECT SUCH A PLEA MAY HAVE
ON YOUR CDL. MORE INFORMATION
NEW HAMPSHIRE DWI PENALTIES
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DWI 1ST
– Class B Misdemeanor
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AGG DWI -Class A
Misdemeanor
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DWI 2ND WITHIN
2 YEARS – Class A Misdemeanor
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DWI 2ND WITHIN
10 YEARS Class A Misdemeanor
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DWI 3RD
– CLASS A MISDEMEANOR
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DWI 4TH --FELONY
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AGG. DWI
-SERIOUS BODILY INJURY FELONY
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MIN LIC LOSS
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90 DAYS*
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1 YEAR*
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3 YEARS
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3 YEARS
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5 YEARS
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7 YEARS
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1 YEAR
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MAX LIC LOSS
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2 YEARS
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2 YEARS
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3 YEARS
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3 YEARS
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INDEFINITE
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INDEFINITE
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2 YEARS
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MIN FINE
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$500.00
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$750.00
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$750.00
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$750.00
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$750.00
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$750.00
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$1000.00
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MAX FINE
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$1200.00
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$2000.00
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$2000.00
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$2000.00
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$2000.00
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$4000.00
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$4000.00
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MIN JAIL
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NONE
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3 DAYS
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30 DAYS*
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3 DAYS**
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30 DAYS**
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30 DAYS**
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14 DAYS**
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MAX JAIL
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NONE
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1 YEAR
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1 YEAR
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1 YEAR
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1 YEAR
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7 YEARS
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7 YEARS
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ALCOHOL PROGRAM
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20 HOUR OUTPATIENT
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7 DAY RESIDENTIAL*
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7 DAY RESIDENTIAL*
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7 DAY RESIDENTIAL*
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28 DAY RESIDENTIAL***
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28 DAY RESIDENTIAL***
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28
DAY RESIDENTIAL*** |
Regardless
of the alcohol program that you must complete, you are required to complete
all recommended aftercare prior to your license being restored; until you
complete such treatment, the Department of Safety will
not restore your license.
*In
order to receive a minimum sentence, you must enter an approved alcohol
treatment program within 45 days, otherwise your
loss will be six months longer; the Court’s sentencing order adds six months
to the minimums above, and then provides for
suspension of six months upon your filing proof of entry into the requisite
program within 45 days.
**The
jail sentence and the residential treatment programs must be served
consecutively, with the jail sentence first, except by special permission
of the Court, which may, in some instances, be obtained via Motion.
***
A 28-day residential treatment may be completed by undergoing an intensive
course of substance abuse treatment based upon a
formal evaluation by a licensed alcohol and other drug counselor and
approved by the NH department of health and human
services (Multiple Offender Program).
FURTHER CONSEQUENCES
Other
adverse consequences are attached to any DWI conviction. First, you will have a
record of conviction for DWI. Conviction for DWI also requires the filing of
proof of insurance by your insurance carrier. Your insurance rates will
increase greatly for at least three years. A DWI conviction also makes you at
risk of being charged, if you are arrested again, in this or any other State,
with a 2nd offense DWI and its enhanced penalties, including a lengthy license
loss and a mandatory jail sentence. In New Hampshire, a DWI conviction remains
on your record for ten years (as of January 1, 2002). If you are convicted of DWI and have a New
Hampshire license, upon reinstatement of your license, you will be issued a
probationary license identifying you as a DWI offender. You are then at risk,
for the three-year period from the date of your restoration from the DWI conviction,
of having your license administratively suspended if you either refuse testing
or are chemically tested with a result of as low as 0.03.DWI is also a major
motor vehicle violation that not only adds points to your license, but may be
used for five years in connection with other motor vehicle offenses, to have
you declared an habitual offender, resulting in your revocation for a period of
from one to four years. If you are convicted of any DWI, for the next ten year
you also will risk a two-year loss if you either refuse to submit to a chemical
test, or if you submit to a test that shows an alcohol concentration in excess
of the legal limit. Some countries, including Canada, will actually bar U.S.
citizens with a DWI conviction on their record from admission into their
country.
The
State of New Hampshire has no provision for a work license, an emergency
license, a limited or restricted license, or any other means that allows you to
drive a vehicle for any purpose during the period of suspension for either a
DWI conviction or an Administrative License Suspension. If your New Hampshire
driver’s license is revoked, you may not operate in any State during until you
are officially restored and have your license back. If New Hampshire revokes
your right to operate in this State, you may not drive in New Hampshire until
that right is officially restored. If you hold an out-of-state license you may
be suspended in your home state until your right to operated is restored in New
Hampshire.
DRIVERS
UNDER 21
If
you are under 21 at the time of your arrest, the Court must impose a minimum
mandatory license loss of one year, and it has the power to revoke your license
for up to two years. If you are under 20 at the time of the offense, you also
face an additional revocation by the Department of Safety; that loss may vary
between twenty and ninety days, depending upon your prior record. You are
entitled to a hearing before the Department of Safety that might result in that
revocation being held in abeyance if you meet certain criteria followed by the
Department of Safety.
If you hold
a commercial driver license and are convicted of DWI, even though you were
not operating a commercial vehicle at the time, you likely face a longer
revocation of your CDL license than the Court imposes for your conviction. If
you have no prior DWI convictions, your CDL will be revoked for one year, or
the period of time for which the Court revoked your license if that
revocation is longer than one year. If you were to receive a ninety-day
revocation for DWI in a non-commercial vehicle, you would suffer the loss of
your CDL for one year; you would, however, be entitled to the restoration of
your regular, non-commercial license at the end of the ninety days imposed by
the New Hampshire court. If you are administratively suspended for refusing
to submit to a chemical test, even in a non-commercial vehicle, you will lose
your CDL for a period of one year. A second-offense DWI conviction or refusal
will result in a lifetime loss of your CDL, and for CDL purposes, a DWI
conviction remains on your record for your lifetime. If you have both a DWI
and a refusal arising from two separate incidents, you also face a lifetime
loss of your Commercial Driver’s License. Any loss of your CDL may prove
damaging to your employment as a commercial driver; over the years, I have
represented commercial drivers who have told me that, although someone with a
DWI conviction on his or her record may have had his or her CDL restored, it
can, nevertheless, prove difficult to find or to continue employment as a
commercial driver because of onerous reporting requirements imposed on
employers by State and Federal law.
Conviction
of serious offenses other than DWI can also result in lengthy CDL suspensions
regardless of whether you were driving a commercial motor vehicle. A single
conviction for leaving the scene of an accident will result in a one-year
suspension of your CDL, even if you receive no suspension of your New
Hampshire operator’s license as a result of the conviction itself. Should you
have on your record a previous DWI, or conduct after an accident conviction,
or a refusal to submit to a chemical test, you face loss of your CDL for
life. You should not consider pleading guilty to a motor vehicle offense,
whether you were driving a commercial motor vehicle or not, until you learn
what the consequence to your CDL might be.
Other
motor vehicle convictions, even for minor offenses, can result in a
revocation of your CDL. If you are convicted of speeding, reckless driving,
illegally changing lanes, following too close, and have as few as two
previous similar offenses within a three-year period, you face the loss of
your CDL for 120 days, even if you were operating a non-commercial vehicle at
the time. Should you receive a license loss for one of the offenses listed
immediately above, and you have one prior conviction for any of those
offenses within the last three years, you will lose your CDL for 60 days.
The law on
loss of the CDL is complicated and difficult to interpret, as it is based on
a combination of New Hampshire and Federal statutes and regulations. Since
the New Hampshire Department of Safety has not been administering these CDL
suspensions for long, there is little settled law with regard to those
matters which are not made clear by the language of those statutes and regulations.
As a result, if you hold a CDL, you should check with a lawyer familiar with
CDL law prior to entering a plea of guilty to any motor vehicle offense. If
you are a commercial driver and are charged with a DWI, legal representation
simply makes sense, as your livelihood depends on your CDL – do not lose it
without first determining if you have a case that is defensible.
OUT-OF-STATE DRIVERS
If you
hold an out-of-state license and are convicted of DWI in New Hampshire, you
will lose your out-of-state license. New Hampshire cannot revoke your
license; it can only revoke your right to drive in this State. It will,
however, notify the Motor Vehicle Department in your home state of your
revocation here. Your State will then revoke your license as a result of the New
Hampshire revocation. It will do so for the at least for the period that you
are under revocation in New Hampshire, and it may revoke it for a longer
period of time, depending on the normal revocation period in your home state
and your prior record of DWI convictions there. You should check with your state’s
Department of Motor Vehicles or an attorney licensed to practice in your home
state and familiar with motor vehicle law. You may be given the opportunity
for a hearing prior to the revocation. In addition, some states will revoke
your license only upon conviction for DWI, while others may revoke it for the
entire period that you are under revocation in New Hampshire, including the
period of any administrative suspension.
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