A second DUI in Mississippi

A second DUI within five years in Mississippi carries three things at once rather than a choice among them: a fine of $600 to $1,500, imprisonment of not less than five days nor more than six months, and community service of not less than ten days nor more than six months. The statute then closes both of the usual exits. The minimum penalties shall not be suspended or reduced by the court, and no prosecutor shall offer any suspension or sentence reduction as part of a plea bargain. That last clause is unusual: most states leave the bargaining to the prosecutor and only bind the judge. Mississippi binds both.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is not less than 5 days nor more than 6 months. 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: not less than 5 days nor more than 6 months, and a fine of $600 to $1,500. The range is set by Miss. Code § 63-11-30(2)(b), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

Mississippi treats the interlock as the way to keep driving at all. The license is seized at the stop and the paper receipt works as a permit for 30 days; after that an administrative suspension runs unless the court has ordered an interlock-restricted license instead. Refusing the chemical test suspends a Class R license for 90 days on its own, and a year if you have a prior. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Mississippi Department of Public Safety, on the court order.