A second OWI in Michigan

Michigan measures the second offence against a seven-year window, and it writes the sentence as a choice rather than a stack. The fine is mandatory at $200 to $1,000. On top of it the court must impose at least one of two things: imprisonment of not less than five days nor more than one year, or community service of not less than thirty days nor more than ninety. That "or" is the whole difference between this tier and the next — after two or more prior convictions, with no lookback at all, the offence becomes a felony carrying one to five years, and even the probation alternative there requires thirty days to a year in the county jail with at least forty-eight hours served consecutively.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is five days to one year — or 30 to 90 days of community 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.

Misdemeanor: five days to one year — or 30 to 90 days of community service, and a fine of $200 to $1,000. The range is set by Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.625(9)(b), (9)(c), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

In Michigan the Secretary of State suspends the license on receiving the conviction record, and the interlock is part of the route back to driving. The restricted license and the conditions attached to it are decided through the Secretary of State’s hearing process rather than set as a flat term in the vehicle code. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Michigan Secretary of State, through its hearing officers.