Will an old DUI be an enhancement?

I recently got a DUI and blew a .12. Will a DUI that I got 13 years ago act as a sentencing enhancement?
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Answered By: Law Offices of James C. Bechler, A.P.C.
No. A DUI over ten years old will not be used as an enhancement. The DA however, will have your old Rap Sheet and could make an issue out of your old DUI for sentencing purposes. You may want to get a lawyer on this one.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/6/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Office of Eric Sterkenburg
The time limit for using a prior DUI in a current DUI is ten years.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/4/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: The Law Office of Denis White
Thirteen years is outside the time period that DMV or the district attorney can use to make this anything more than a first offense. In Sacramento they have, however, begun to ask for additional time for what they call stale priors.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/3/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Offices of Juan Dotson
No, DUIs can only be used against you if they occurred within 10 years. You should consult with an attorney because the laws have changed significantly in the past 10 years.



Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/3/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Nelson & Lawless
Technically, no. Practically, yes, sort of. A DUI officially counts as a prior for only ten years. However, the reality is that the DA is going to see that previous one on your record, and will certainly take that into consideration when discussing plea bargain sentencing. You face considerable pain as a consequence of this one. If serious about hiring an attorney to help you minimize that paid, or take it to trial if there is justification for doing so, you think you can win, feel free to contact me.

Keep in mind: When you are arrested for DUI, upon release from jail or booking, you will be given documents that include a notice from DMV that you have only ten days to file a request with DMV for a hearing on an appeal of the automatic one-year suspension of your license. Contact DMV and do so, timely. You can hire an attorney for that hearing if you want.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/3/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Steven Mandell
No, a DUI conviction can only be used against you if it is less than 10 years old. This DUI will be considered by the court and the DMV as a "first." However, if the prosecutor knows about it, they may secretly consider it without "using" it against you. This is called a "stale prior." Legally, though, it can't be the reason for any increase in the sentence for a new DUI.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/3/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

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