A second DWI in Arkansas

The second DWI in Arkansas is still an unclassified misdemeanor, but the floor moves from twenty-four hours to seven days and the fine roughly triples at both ends. Public service remains available as a substitute for jail, and here the statute puts a number on it: not less than thirty days, or not less than sixty if a passenger under sixteen was in the vehicle. That is the trade the court is choosing between — seven days locked up, or thirty days of service. The two lookback windows still disagree. Jail counts a second offence occurring within ten years of the first; the fine schedule counts it within five. The felony line is further out than in most states: it arrives at the fourth offence within ten years.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 7 days, up to one year — or 30 days of public service. 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 7 days, up to one year — or 30 days of public service, and a fine of $400 to $3,000. The range is set by Ark. Code § 5-65-111(b), (d); § 5-65-112(2), 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).