DUI While on Probation

If a person is charged with a DUI while on probation in Michigan they are probably going to face a probation violation under their old case, as well as have a new OWI/DUI charge to face. Being charged with a new drunk driving charge while on probation is grounds for a probation violation. It does not matter if the original charge was for OWI/DUI or something else. One of the most common terms and conditions of probation prohibits a violation of any law or local ordinance of any state, so, if a person was charged with a new drunk driving charge, they would be subject to a probation violation on the old charge because it is a violation of the law.

If you are charged with an OWI while on probation for another conviction, contact a Michigan OWI lawyer for assistance in battling both cases.

In the case of a DUI while on probation, the defendant will have to go back before their old court and face the judge and the probation officer in that court on a probation violation. In the case they are on probation for drunk driving, they would not only be facing second- or third-offense penalties on the new drunk driving case, but would also potentially have the remainder of the maximum penalties from the original charge hanging over their head under the probation for the first charge.

If a person is on probation for a more serious felony charge, their probation violation could even subject them to serving a prison sentence on the old charge even if the new Michigan OWI/DUI charge is only a misdemeanor.

First of all, a DUI while on probation in Michigan is a probation violation because of the fact that it is a violation of the law. In many cases—especially drunk driving cases—there is a probation condition that says that the convicted is not allowed to drink any alcohol. Accordingly, if they were stopped and arrested for drunk driving—even if they were not drunk driving and their BAC was only .03, the fact that they were charged and blew anything above .00 would be used as evidence that they had consumed some alcohol as a violation of their probation. So, even if it is not a violation of the law for someone who is not on probation, it would likely be a violation of the terms of their probation.

A DUI while on probation can really affect a person's bargaining power in their new case as well as trying to deal with the Michigan prosecutor, judge, and probation officer in the old case because now they would see that the defendant has been charged with a new crime. It can also affect the maximum penalties you could receive in the new case. The judge in the new case might look at the consequences you received from the probation violation in the old case and use those as a guideline as to what the judge would do in your new case.

The judge in the new case might have been inclined to issue a lighter sentence, but, because the individual was already on probation and had received a sentence on a probation violation in that court, the judge in the new case could follow along with the same sentence.