If you've been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), you might be amazed at the wide variety of sentencing and punishments available. Depending on your record and the details of your arrest, you may find yourself performing community service, wearing an ankle monitor, and being ordered to take classes. In many cases, justice can mean educating a DUI offender as part of the sentencing. Read on to find out more.
Targeting Certain Offenders
If this is your first DUI arrest, DUI classes and other forms of alternative sentencing attempt to ensure that it's your last. Impaired drivers cause accidents, injuries, and death, and many people charged with DUI have already been arrested numerous times for the same thing. That is where educational programs come in. Catching problem drinkers early might save not just the life of the driver but may also keep the roads safer for everyone. This type of sentencing includes almost anything but incarceration. As long as the offender completes the program, the charges can be dropped. In most cases, those chosen for alternative sentencing like DUI classes are first-time offenders. Other types of alternative punishments include:
- Probation
- Random drug and alcohol testing.
- Ignition interlock device installation.
- Court-ordered 12-step meetings
- Counseling and/or inpatient rehabilitation
- Community service work.
What Happens At a Class?
Often held over several sessions, these classes may be available in-person or using a web-based interface. The goal is not to feed dry facts about drinking and driving to the participants, but to show them the effects of drinking and driving on others. That may be facilitated using victims and victim's families providing personal testimony about accidents. Disturbing footage at accident scenes is common as well. Many educational programs include information about coping with addiction.
Interested in Alternative Sentencing?
Since most offenders do everything possible to stay out of jail, these programs are popular. That means that not everyone that wants to take a class instead of going to jail can do so. Your best bet is to contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as you are out of jail. Alternative sentencing opportunities may be offered as part of a plea bargain deal and not as part of the usual trial process. Your lawyer will know all about alternative sentencing programs in your area and how to gain entrance. This type of sentencing can help you keep your job, go to school, and spend time with your family while you deal with a DUI.
