Mississippi DUI Basics
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Mississippi law sets its blood alcohol content percentage at 0.08 for adults. At this level or above this level it is considered drunk driving. Commercial drivers have a lower blood alcohol content level of 0.04 percent. As anyone under the age of twenty-one is considered a minor, the Mississippi minor drunk driving law is set a blood alcohol content of 0.02 percent.
When an individual is arrested for having a blood alcohol content percentage above the 0.08 percent limit, his or her driver’s license will be suspended. Prior to a DUI hearing and after an arrest, an individual has a window of ten days where he or she may submit a request to the Mississippi Department of Motor Vehicle for an evaluation. If the DMV determines the individual is eligible, he or she may then have his or her driver’s license reinstated on a temporary basis.
Mississippi Driving Under the Influence for Minors
Minor offenses are treated differently than adult offenses. A first-time DUI offense by a minor with a blood alcohol content between 0.02 percent and 0.08 percent will earn a fine of two hundred fifty dollars and driver’s license suspension for ninety days. If the minor refuses to submit to chemical testing he or she will be convicted as an adult.
A second DUI offense will earn a fine up to five hundred dollars and driver’s license suspension for one year. Driver’s license suspension for first and second offense scan be reduced if the minor participates in a certified drug and alcohol program. A third DUI offense while under the age of twenty-one will earn a fine of one thousand dollars, driver’s license suspension for two years or until he or she is twenty-one-years-old, and mandatory attendance to a certified drug and alcohol program.
Mississippi DUI Consequences
Under Mississippi law, punishments are handled by the number of prior DUI offenses. The more DUI offenses, the harsher the punishments. Mississippi has a washout rule in regards to prior offenses. After five years a previous DUI offense cannot be used to aggravate a current offense. Mississippi DUI offenses are normally considered misdemeanor offenses. When an individual has three or more DUI offenses in a five-year time period this misdemeanor law changes to a felony offense.
DUI Convictions
A first-time DUI offense can earn a fine up between two hundred fifty dollars and one thousand dollars — plus court costs — incarceration for forty-eight hours, MASEP & VIRP, and driver’s license suspension for one year. A second DUI offense can earn a fine between six hundred and fifteen hundred dollars, incarceration between five days and one year, community service between ten days and one year, driver’s license suspension for two years, and a motor vehicle impoundment or motor vehicle immobilization until the suspension is complete.
A third offense can earn a fine between two thousand and five thousand dollars, incarceration between one year and five years, driver’s license suspension for five years, and motor vehicle seizure. DUI offenses that result in death or injury are treated as felonies and punishments can include incarceration between five years and twenty-five years.
