A second DUI in Alabama

The mandatory element on a second conviction is small but immovable: at least five days in the county or municipal jail, or at least 30 days of community service, neither of which may be suspended or served on probation. The license goes for a year and the device for two — and the revocation is stayed once you have served 45 days of it and the interlock is installed, with the remainder commuted if you complete the device period.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is up to 1 year, with 5 days mandatory. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.

Misdemeanor under § 32-5A-191(f): up to 1 year, with 5 days mandatory, and a fine of $1,100 to $5,100. The range is set by Ala. Code § 32-5A-191(f), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

Alabama makes the interlock a way to stay on the road rather than an extra punishment: on a first conviction below 0.15%, ALEA states the entire 90-day suspension is stayed if you voluntarily elect and install the device. At 0.15% or above it becomes mandatory for a year, with the suspension stayed on proof of installation. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, on the convicting court order.