DUI / Physical Control Penalties

RCW 46.61.502 / RCW 46.61.504

DUI is gross misdemeanor. This means that that maximum punishment is 1 year in jail and a 5000.00 fine. Upon conviction for DUI or Physical Control there are mandatory punishment penalties and the court must impose even for first time offenders with no prior DUI convictions. While the court ALWAYS retains the ability to impose more than the minimum, if you are convicted of DUI the Court has no discretion when it comes to sentencing below the mandatory punishment set forth by statute. There is a large overlap between what the court orders and what DOL will require of you upon a conviction and the consequences depend upon what sort of prior DUI Convictions you have with 7 years being the magic number.

Prior Offense

Under the sentencing scheme of Washington's DUI law the mandatory minimums are determined by whether you have "priors" within 7 years. The word "prior" is set by statute.

A "prior offense" means a conviction for any of the following: RCW 46.61.502 (DUI);RCW 46.61.504 (Physical Control); RCW 46.61.520 (Vehicular Homicide) committed while DUI; RCW 46.61.522 (Vehicular Assault) committed while DUI.

Many people who enter a deferred prosecution and successfully complete the program are unaware that this falls within the definition of prior offense also. In addition to the priors above, the statute include a deferred prosecution if done when the charge is originally filed as a DUI or Physical Control and even if a Deferred was for Negligent Driving, First Degree when the charge was originally filed as a violation of RCW 46.61.502 (DUI);RCW 46.61.504 (Physical Control); RCW 46.61.520 (Vehicular Homicide) committed while DUI; RCW 46.61.522 (Vehicular Assault) committed while DUI.

In exercising its discretion in setting penalties within the mandatory minimums and the maximum limits allowed the court are required to "particularly consider" whether the person's driving at the time of the offense was responsible for injury or damage to another or another's property and whether at the time of the offense the person was driving or in physical control of a vehicle with one or more passengers. As stated earlier, even those there may be no statutory reason for a judge to sentence above the mandatory minimums, they retain the discretion to impose more than the minimum and up to the maximum of 1 year and 5000.00 fine.

If You Have No Prior DUI Related Convictions And A Breath Test Under .15 The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 1 day jail;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 866.00;
  3. Order the DOL to suspend your drivers license for 90 days and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License (IIL);
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Order you to attend a DUI victim impact panel; and
  6. Place you on probation for at least 2 years, but most likely 5 years.

If You Have No Prior DUI Related Convictions And A Breath Test Over .15 (Or You REFUSED) The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 2 days jail;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 121.00;
  3. Order the DOL to revoke your driver's license for 365 days (2 years if you Refused) and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License;
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Order you to attend a DUI victim impact panel; and
  6. Place you on probation for at least 2 years, but most likely 5 years. The cost of probation is at your expense.

If You Have 1 Prior DUI Related Conviction And A Breath Test Under .15 The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 30 days jail followed by 60 days of Electronic Home Monitoring after the jail is served at your expense;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 121.00;
  3. Order the DOL to revoke your driver's license for 2 years and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License; The IIL will be required for 5 years
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Place you on probation for at 5 years at your expense.

If You Have 1 Prior DUI Related Conviction And A Breath Test Above .15 (Or You Refused) The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 45 days jail followed by 90 days of Electronic Home Monitoring after the jail is served at your expense;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 1546.00;
  3. Order the DOL to revoke your driver's license for 900 (3 years if you Refused) and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License; The IIL will be required for 5 years
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Place you on probation for at 5 years at your expense.

If You Have 2 Prior DUI Related Conviction And A Breath Test Under .15 The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 90 days jail followed by 120 days of Electronic Home Monitoring after the jail is served at your expense;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 1970.00;
  3. Order the DOL to revoke your driver's license for 3 years and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License; The IIL will be required for 10 years;
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Place you on probation for at 5 years at your expense.

If You Have 2 Prior DUI Related Conviction And A Breath Test Above .15 (Or You Refused) The Court MUST And Will:

  1. Impose 120 days jail followed by 150 days of Electronic Home Monitoring after the jail is served at your expense;
  2. Impose a fine and fees of 2821.00;
  3. Order the DOL to revoke your driver's license for 4 years (4years if you Refused) and when that period of time is over the DOL will only reinstate your driver's license if you apply for a special driver's license called an Ignition Interlock License; The IIL will be required for 10 years;
  4. Require you undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and comply with any and all treatment recommendations;
  5. Place you on probation for at 5 years at your expense.

Additional DUI/Physical Control Sentence Terms & Punishment

In addition to the strict and specific terms outlined as a punishment for DUI the Court will order compliance with other conditions. In the event that those special terms or conditions are violated there is additional MANDATORY punishment. The DUI Mandatory Sentence will require the court to impose the following additional conditions of sentence or probation:

  1. Not drive a motor vehicle without a valid license to drive and proof of financial responsibility;
  2. Not drive a motor vehicle while having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours after driving; and
  3. Not refuse a test of breath or blood to determine alcohol concentration upon lawful request of a law enforcement officer.

For each and any violation of these 3 mandatory probation conditions the court shall order the convicted person to be confined for 30 days, which shall not be suspended or deferred. This means that if you are convicted of a new DUI while on probation for a DUI and you did not have a valid license and you provided a portable breath test in the field at the time of arrest, but refused at the station you would be required to serve 90 days in jail on top of whatever your sentence is for the new DUI conviction.

For each and every incident involving a violation of a mandatory condition of probation imposed your license will be suspended or revoked by the court for 30 days and if it is already suspended or revoked at the time the of the probation violation, it shall be extended by 30 days. Under the above scenario, this means that there would be an additional 90 days added to your current suspension or revocation.

Special Penalty If You Have A Passenger Under 16 Years Old

If you are convicted of a violation of DUI or Physical Control and there is evidence that there was a passenger under the age of sixteen in the vehicle, the court shall order the use if an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) for at least 60 days if for some reason there is no statutory requirement, but if there is statutory order to maintain an Interlock, that use of an IID shall be ordered to remain for an additional sixty days beyond the order.

Department Of Licensing Overlap

If the DoL suspends or revokes your license before a court conviction for the same facts that created the charge and DOL action, the department shall grant credit on a day-for-day basis for any portion of a suspension, revocation already served.

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