A first DWI in Arkansas: what it can result in

Arkansas writes the first DWI as an unclassified misdemeanor with a floor of twenty-four hours and a ceiling of a year. The floor is real but soft: the court may order public service instead of imprisonment, and when it does the statute requires it to write the reasons for that choice into the order or judgment. Two facts change the arithmetic immediately. A passenger under sixteen in the vehicle lifts the floor from twenty-four hours to seven days. And the lookback windows do not agree with each other — the jail statute counts prior offences over ten years, while the fine statute counts them over five, so a driver can be a "second offender" for one purpose and a first offender for the other.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 24 hours, up to one year. 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.

Unclassified misdemeanor: not less than 24 hours, up to one year, and a fine of $150 to $1,000. The range is set by Ark. Code § 5-65-111(a); § 5-65-112(1), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

Arkansas ties the device to the suspension one for one: the state requires an interlock installed for a period equal to your license suspension, and you file a Confirmation of Interlock Requirement with Driver Control. Reinstatement also needs a drug and alcohol education or treatment program, a Victim Impact Panel and a $150 fee. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Arkansas Office of Driver Services (Department of Finance and Administration).