Felony DUI Defense Lawyers
To reach the felony level in Ohio, you need to have four DUIs in six years; or five DUIs in 20 years. In either case you could–but you wouldn’t–get as little as 60 days in a local jail. In the situation where you have four DUIs in five years, you could get up to 30 months in prison. With the five in twenty, you could get up to seven and a half years in prison. The look‑back period in Kentucky is five years, so a fourth DUI in five years is a felony.
It’s difficult if you’re a social drinker to think about ever reaching that level, but not if you’re an alcoholic. At The Farrish Law Firm, L.P.A., we’ve represented people with felony DUIs, and at the end of the day, it’s a matter of the person having a problem they can’t control.
But it is important for people to know this: a DUI in any state is a DUI in every state.
This is because every state has signed off on what’s called the Interstate Compact Act.
For example, if you get a DUI while you’re down in Myrtle Beach on vacation, you don’t just have a DUI there; you have one in every state, and every state compounds differently.
It is important for people in southwestern Ohio to know and understand this because of our border with Indiana. In Indiana, a second DUI in five years is a felony. You’re then looking at six months to three years in prison, and you forfeit your car.
This isn’t the easiest thing to understand. Here is an example scenario:
Let’s say you were arrested for a DUI four years ago in Ohio. Then, you get your second while driving home from Indiana. You have had two DUIs in four years. Even though it isn’t a felony in Ohio, it is in Indiana.
As you can see, this is quite complicated. It is even hard for some attorneys to understand, especially if their main practice area isn’t DUI defense. This is why it is incredibly important for you to have an experienced DUI lawyer defending you from the moment you’ve been arrested. He or she will know to watch out for these state-to-state complications and won’t compromise your future.
