Can A Kentucky DUI Attorney Use Mitigating Factors To Reduce My DUI Sentence?

Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a serious criminal charge in Kentucky. Kentucky laws treat convictions for drunk driving severely with mandatory jail sentences. Your best way to mitigate the damage of a conviction is to hire an experienced DUI attorney as soon as possible after being arrested for drunk or drugged driving in Kentucky.

Jail Penalties for Kentucky DUI Penalties

Your DUI attorney will discuss minimum jail sentences for DUI convictions; however, this is a simple summary of the current minimum guidelines judges use when sentencing a DUI offender.

First Offense DUI – Minimum of 48 hours in jail up to 30 days in jail for a conviction
Second Offense DUI – Minimum 7 days in jail up to 6 months in jail for a conviction
Third Offense DUI – Minimum 30 days in jail up to 12 months in jail for a conviction
Four or More DUI Offenses – Minimum of 120 days must be served of a 1 to 5 year jail term for a conviction.

Jail time is not the only penalty a judge can impose for a DUI conviction. Your DUI attorney will discuss the potential punishments including but not limited to license suspension, fines, probation, and mandatory alcohol and/or drug education classes.

Does Kentucky Have Mitigating Factors That Reduce

DUI Sentences?

Kentucky’s DUI laws set forth aggravating factors that increase the mandatory jail time for a DUI conviction; however, the law does not specifically list mitigating factors that automatically reduce a DUI sentence or a DUI charge. However, an experienced central Kentucky DUI attorney can use mitigating factors (i.e. this is your first offense, you have no other criminal charges, etc.) to argue in favor of the lowest amount of time within the sentencing guidelines.

What are Aggravating Factors Used in Kentucky

DUI Cases?

Aggravating factors act in the opposite way of mitigating factors. These factors are set forth in the Kentucky statutes under KRS 189A.010(11).

If the prosecution is successful in proving aggravating factors in your DUI case, the minimum jail sentence is doubled and must be served in full without the possibility of parole pursuant to KRS 189A.01(5). For example, if you are convicted of DUI Second Offence AND you were speeding at 35 miles mph over the posted speed limit, your minimum jail sentence would be 14 days that you must serve.

While proving more than one aggravating factor will not continue to multiply your minimum sentence, a prosecutor will use multiple aggravating factors to argue for a longer jail term within the sentencing guidelines. Judges are more included to award these higher jail terms when more than one aggravating factors is present or when the factor harms another such as causing a DUI accident. For example, if you are convicted of a DUI Second Offense, you were driving 45 mph over the posted speed limit, AND you caused an accident with injuries, the judge may sentence six months in jail that includes a mandatory 14 day sentence.

Kentucky DUI laws provide six aggravating factors for DUI cases:

Traveling at speeds of 30 mph or more above the posted speed limit
Driving your vehicle the wrong way on a limited access highway
Causing a motor vehicle accident that injures or kills another person
Having a BAC of 0.15 or higher measured within two hours after ceasing driving
Refusal to submit to one or more tests to measure BAC
Having a child 12 years of age or under in the vehicle at the time of the DUI

An experienced Kentucky DUI attorney knows the aggravating factors and he understands how prosecutors use aggravating factors at trial to extend mandatory jail time as well as encourage the judge to lengthen the jail terms. If possible your DUI attorney may be able to successfully argue against aggravating factors by using evidence found while conducting a complete and thorough investigation into the facts surrounding your arrest.

Contact an Experienced Kentucky DUI Attorney

We’ve Helped Thousands of KY Families, we can help you!

The DUI lawyers of Musselwhite Meinhart & Staples, PSC have the experience and skill you need when facing a Kentucky DUI charge. The first step for you is to contact our office as soon as possible following your DUI arrest. By waiting, you allow the police and the state to continue gathering evidence against you while no one is working on your behalf to build a strong defense to the state’s case.

Our law firm represents clients throughout central Kentucky. Contact our office by calling 270-351-6032 to schedule a free legal consultation with an experienced DUI attorney. You may also contact our office through our convenient online contact form.