DUI Community Service

A Michigan driving under the influence (DUI) charge can lead to many penalties such as jail time, probation, fines, and the loss of driving privileges. The number of hours or days of community service will depend first on the offense you are convicted of, and second on the judge before whom you are appearing. Each DUI charge, first, second, third, etc., have a suggested number of community service hours assigned to them.

You may have several options for community service. You will find out what your options are when you meet with your probation officer. They will have a list of places from which you may select. In some cases, the judge may allow you to perform community service for a charity or organization that you feel strongly about. The only real limitation is the place you select for community service must be a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Tax Code. Also, the organization must know the purpose of your community service and must report your hours back to the court. This limits your choices somewhat because you may not want your favorite charity to know that you are being sentenced for DUI.

No matter which community service option you choose, you should carefully record your hours. You must be able to prove to the court that you successfully completed the total number of community service hours. The purpose of your keeping track is simply to assure you get full credit for everything you do. As indicted, it will be up to the charity to report and confirm your community service hours.

The number of community service hours that you may be ordered to perform depends on the circumstances surrounding your arrest. If this is your first offense, you may be sentenced to a maximum of 360 hours of community service. For a second offense, you may be sentenced to between 30 and 90 days of community service.

A Michigan DUI sentence depends on several factors, such as your blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of arrest, and if you had prior drinking and driving convictions on your record. You may face enhanced penalties if you caused an accident or were transporting a child while under the influence.

In some instances, the judge will order jail with no community service, or in some courts, if your case is a misdemeanor, you may be ordered to complete some number of WAAM days. This community service alternative is usually ordered as an enhanced sentencing and is in lieu of both jail and community service. WAAM stands for "weekday and weekend alternative for misdemeanors." Each day of WAAM "counts" for one day of jail, so the sentence is something like 10 days in jail or 10 WAAM days.

As with all other terms and conditions of your probation, a failure to complete the necessary number of community service hours within the given time-period is likely to result in your facing a violation of probation. This starts with a show-cause order, after which you must appear in court to explain or show cause as to why you should not be held in contempt of court for disobeying an order of the court. This can result in additional jail time being ordered.

To learn more about Michigan DUI community service, contact The Barone DUI Defense Firm today. By filling out our online form, you may receive a complimentary DUI case evaluation.