Stryfe

Unfortunately, I got my 2nd DUI this past Friday. I blew a .18. The cop was very polite and let me out after being booked and didn't throw me in prison. My court date is at the end of December three days before New Year's.

I have been stressed out and depressed after graduating college almost two years ago with no future employment prospects. I have been out of work for a little over a year after working in a warehouse for nine months. It is so hard to find any job. I started drinking heavily when I transfered to a four year university four years ago. I'm 28 and I live my mother, my sister and my brother. We are all unemployed and living off my father's dwindling life insurance money. We might lose our house soon. I am very stressed out to say the least.

I know I have a problem. I am going to my first AA meeting tonight at 7. I am scared that I might go to jail. The maximum penalty for a 2nd DUI in my state in Maryland is 2 years in prison. I think the maximum sentence is reserved for felony DUI's that involve accidents or minors riding in the car which was not the case here. I have never been to jail in my life. But I did the crime. I don't know what is going to happen to me.

Adobe

I'm so sorry to hear that Stryfe

I'm sorry things are hard. It was a really tough time to come out of college and start looking for a job, I understand your frustration.

Good luck at your meeting. You might want to contact a lawyer, if you can't afford one most counties have a place where you can at least get a free/cheap consult. Maybe if you start going to meetings now and by the time your court date comes up, you can show that you've stuck with it, got sober and started to change things around, they might be a little more lenient on you?

I can't say for sure, so don't take my words as fact, but only good can come from trying!

suki44883

You might want to google DUI penalties for your state to see exactly what you might be facing. It's doubtful you'll go to jail, but all states are different. If this is your second DUI, you should have some idea of what happens. You'll need a lawyer, you'll spend a lot of money, spend some months or a year or more on probation, suspension of your license, community service, some classes, fines and court costs.

I hope this was a huge wake-up call for you. I've had one DUI and I will NEVER allow myself to be in the position for another. I hope you'll take steps to see that you don't either.

Stryfe

Having a lawyer is useless because there are no mitigating circumstances. I blew a big number on the breathalyzer and there is no way around that. I am just going to get a public defender to tell them that I have been going to AA and not drinking once December rolls around. Hopefully, I will have a job by then. There is a silver lining to be broke as I am here at rockbottom. I don't even have a good job or an apartment to lose here.

CarolD

I suggest you take along a notebook to AA meetings.
then after the meeting....ask a member how to verify you have been there.

The usual way is to note the the date and time of the meeting....the name of the group...and topic discussed. Then the member will sign it

Some members are not willing to do this...but keep asking...some will...

Glad you and no one else was injured when you drove drunk...and hope you will use this to quit
Welcome back to SR.....

loveon2legs

((Big Hugs)) I can't imagine the torment your soul is in....I just can't imagine ever having to go threw another DUI... my thoughts and prayers are with you....

RaiderRuss

Get a lawyer, even if it's a public defendant. You'll never know what kind of deal your attorney & the DA can make, regardless of the circumstance involving your arrest, and chances are, for a multiple DUI misdemeanor, they can strike a deal. Bottom line is, it won't hurt your case to get representation, and it's better than just simply pleading guilty & taking the standard punishment.

Document all your AA attendances. Like me, I ripped a page out of a notebook, had three columns (date, secretary name, AA group), and the secretary will always sign it off when you dump it in the 7th Tradition basket. Just don't forget to take it back when the meeting ends. Those things always help. And get a sponsor too, because some sponsors will show up with you to your court date, and vouch for your seriousness in getting sober.

DUI is not the end of the world for you. You stress about 2 years in prison, maximum, but most likely, you'll may get the minimum punishment & serve time in County Jail, with non-violent offenders, rather than Prison (two very different places). But chances of that may decrease if you have an attorney who can strike a deal with the DA, for alternate sentencing. Your license most likely will be suspended for sure, but you'll still have your health. And DUI school isn't so bad.

It's not the end of the world. A DUI is simply a pain in the butt. Just take life day by day, and pray that whatever is meant to happen for you will happen, and it only serves to make you a better person, depending on how you approach it. You've got time to make things right. Good luck!

Justfor1

I have a DUI in 1996 and a second one in 2003. My license was revoked for 1 year & I'm finally trying to get it back. Here in Illinois a .16 or higher is considered an enhanced DUI with greater penalties. I know you are broke but I would at least get a consultation with a DUI lawyer. Most will do a consultation for free. While it still probably is a misdemenor
DUI's can effect you in a big way. Sometimes 2 DUI's within 5 years is considered more serious also. The laws are very complex.

Stryfe

The DUI laws where I live in Maryland are much less strict than California and Illinois which rank in the top five strictest states for DUI laws. An old high school buddy of mine got two DUI's in a year out here just last year. He also was driving without a license. The first time he blew .28, the second time he was arrested for DUI less than a year later, he refused the breathalyzer. He ended up doing a total of two months in jail. I need to get a job soon too because I plan on going to AA meetings multiple times a week.

Taking5

This is not true, this is a group conscience decision. Some groups never sign court slips or anything. Make sure you go to a meeting where they sign it. Also keep you 30-60-90 day chips if you get them. Anything you can do to show the court you are serious about sobriety will help.

Justfor1

Stryfe, you are right. Illinois is very very strict on DUI's. I will need a breathalyser device if I get my license back. It will also only be a permit. It's good that this is serving as a wake up call. It's possible that a normal drinker can get 1 DUI but when someone gets 2 or 3 then they probably have a problem.

Frustriert

Use this as an opportunity. It is probably impossible for you to see it now - about a year ago I got my second OWI too. I felt lower than low... couldn't handle even looking myself in the mirror. So depressed, so down on myself... very deep in self hatred, resentment and pity.

But it is what really finally gave me that push to finally give up trying to control and "handle" my alcoholism. It finally broke me down enough to cry for help. I'm almost a year without alcohol now, three months without any drugs whatsoever. Recovery hasn't been an easy path but it is better than before.

Jail sucks, no way around it. In Wisconsin you go to jail for your second OWI, luckily I got the minimum sentence and only spent 3.5 days in jail. I wish you the best of luck - I have been right where you are there is a light at the end.

whiskeyman

i have never had a OWI either, but what we should all remember is that it was a wake up call. Consider it that.

Another thing that will help you situation right now is to not drink.

You need a clear head.

AT least you arent going to jail for running someone down.

I truly do not intend to be preachy with this but consider this a HUGE wake up

Zebra1275

1. Get a lawyer.
2. Get to an AA meeting everyday.

topspin

Stryfe,
My experience here is very limited. I had to go to some "advanced" counseling in 88 from a possession of cocaine charge. Everyone there had multiple DUI's but no drug charges.

It was a wake-up call for me, since I knew them all !?!

Anyway, those months before court caused a tremendous amount of stress. I wondered (in retrospect) if I could've possibly been more proactive; ....gone to the county and signed up early, possibly. Going into court with documentation of your sincere and continued efforts to address this would seem to be the best course.

lilotto

Isn't this where we get on our knees and prey if you will get me out of this one I will never drink again always a short lived promiss. So you might want to get a jump ahead of the system. first they will probably order you to get an alcohol assesment and follow through with thier recomandations. As some have suggested look around your area for some meetings to attend that always looks good to the judge. Start by going online and surf the web. Good luck with the rollor coster ride.

Masz27

I just got a second DUI in Santa Cruz CA. I am going through similar hell right now and may lose my job as a freelance writer because of it. I also have no idea how I am going to pay for both the DUI school, fines, student loans, and my other probation I am on simultaneously. They may even violate me in another county so I have no idea if it is worth getting a lawyer here for this since I am on probation for something else in a diff county. Anyway, I have no idea how I am going to make the time or find transportation for DUI classes and community service plus possible work detail instead of jail they will give me. All these things are in my head right now. I also could never find a gir,friend or get any female attention anywhere so I kept going to bars and clubs hoping to find it. I did it out of loniness and because of how frustrating my situation is as a journalism grad with no work available and having o compete with all these laid off journalists with decades of experience. All the job postings on ProBlogger.net and Craigslist are either scams or for peanut pay.

CarolD

Welcome Masz27....

sorry you are having so many difficulties but I have no experience with anything you mentioned
Other members will be along soon I'm sure....

:

laurie6781

Welcome to Sober Recovery. You have found a really great web site
with lots of folks with good Experience, Strength and Hope (ES&H)
from folks who have been where you are now or are where you are
now.

Since you are in Santa Cruz, please check out Janus Recovery:

Janus of Santa Cruz | Substance abuse treatment, alcoholism treatment, Janus, Santa Cruz

They have quite a 'recovery program' and also take those with
no financial means. It is quite the place really. I know several
folks who have gone through Janus over the years and are living
really good sober and clean lives today.

Give them a call, go for an interview, it cannot hurt.

There are also some really good AA meetings in Santa Cruz, Capitola,
Watsonville, etc also that you can check out.

If you need detox, since it is never advisable to detox alone, Janus
Recovery can also help you with that.

Please keep posting and let us know how you are doing as we do
care very much.

Love and hugs,

scrambled2012

Hi Masz,

I can tell you a few things for sure.

#1. This too shall pass.
#2. You can get through this
#3. One thing at a time; deep breath.

I know how overwhelmed you feel right now. It is a serious situation, and deserves your full attention; nothing to laugh at. That said, it is something that will eventually fade into the past--and in fact, depending on how you deal with it, something that can make you into a better person, a better writer, a wiser individual, then you would otherwise be.

I want you to realize that others have gone and are going through similar situtions, and they are dealing with what comes. You can too.

Job one right now; perhaps take this as a sign to stop drinking.

Then take the actions that are required, one at a time. Don't think about the next step in the process until you take care of the first. One step at a time. Don't become overwhelmed. You are an adult, this is the legel system. Welcome.

I want you to consider something, also, my friend. I want you to remember a scene from history....a scene from the hell that was WW2. You've seen it. Its a picture of an event repeated thousands of times accross the globe....of people lined up in front of a ditch they themselves had been forced to dig, before being murdered. It happend in Asia, it happened in Europe. It has happend elsewhere. Buddy, you can deal with your situation; you are not standing in front of a ditch in Poland during WW2, you know what I mean? Capture that perspective, internalize it. You can and will deal with this.

Hang in there.