A second DUI in Connecticut

Connecticut counts a second violation within ten years of a prior conviction for the same offence, and the sentence changes shape entirely. On a first violation the court can suspend the whole prison term and impose probation with 100 hours of community service instead; the only untouchable part is forty-eight consecutive hours. On a second there is no such exit. The sentence is imprisonment of not more than two years, of which one hundred and twenty consecutive days may not be suspended or reduced in any manner, and probation follows on top of it — with 100 hours of community service, an assessment of the degree of alcohol or drug abuse through the Court Support Services Division, and treatment if ordered. The fine doubles at the floor and quadruples at the ceiling, to $1,000 to $4,000.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is up to two years, 120 consecutive days of which may not be suspended or reduced. 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: up to two years, 120 consecutive days of which may not be suspended or reduced, and a fine of $1,000 to $4,000. The range is set by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-227a(g)(1), (g)(2); § 14-227e, and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

Connecticut requires the device before it will restore your license at all — after failing or refusing a test, an OUI, vehicular manslaughter or vehicular assault. One detail costs people months: the DMV states plainly that the requirement starts the date your license is restored, not the date the device is fitted. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Connecticut DMV.