Not a year goes by any more when the Kansas Legislature doesn’t make the Kansas DUI Laws stiffer and harsher. This news was released today:
TOPEKA – The governor on Monday signed into law a bill aimed at fixing the state’s drunken driving laws and strengthening penalties for drivers who repeatedly drive while intoxicated.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, signed Senate substitute for House Bill 2096, which creates the Kansas DUI Commissio to review the state’s laws, compare them with other states and suggest changes.
The commission, which will include legislators, judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers, will submit an initial report by the start of the 2010 Legislative session and a final report by the 2011 session.
The new law would require county or district attorneys to check with the Division of Motor Vehicles regarding offenders’ history of driving under the influence and to check their criminal history with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation before proceeding with charges. That change will go into effect July 1.
Among other provisions, the proposal would also create stiffer penalties for people convicted for a third time of drunken driving and require they participate in an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program. That change would take place July 1, 2010.
The good news is that the advice to create a Kansas DUI Commission to take a look at what is working and what is not working appears to have been taken to heart. Of course, this report indicates that the panel will include only legislators, prosecutors and police officers. So, there is no one who will give a defense or civil liberties perspective. My guess is that this Commission will ultimately recommend a smogasboard of some of the worst of the DUI laws that we see around the nation and will result in several steps backward, not forward. I would love to be wrong about that.
Of course, the legislature couldn’t let the bill creating the Kansas DUI Commission go by without also creating harsher penalties for current Kansas DUI cases while the Commission is doing its investigation and making its recommendations. Another story from today:
TOPEKA A third or fourth conviction for driving under the influence in Kansas will mean more jail time starting next year.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed legislation imposing the tougher penalty on Monday . It takes effect in July 2010.
The penalty for a fourth DUI conviction will be at least 180 days in jail, double the current minimum, and a fine of $2,500. The time served before being eligible for a work release program goes from four days to six days.
For a third conviction, an offender will face a minimum of 90 days and at least a $1,500 fine. The offender would be eligible for work release after two days in jail.
So, they have doubled the length of incarceration for 4th time DUI offenders and made it so that 3rd time Kansas DUI offenders can no longer be incarcerated in their homes (house arrest – which the offender pays for) but will have to be housed in a jail facility and then be released from jail to go to work (work release).
Again, every year that goes by the laws get harsher and harsher. Unfortunately, no one has paused to recognize that despite the annual revising of the Kansas DUI laws, the problem gets absolutely no better. Maybe that is what the Kansas DUI Commission will ultimately figure out and some common sense will begin to prevail in this area of the law. Don’t count on it.
The constant push toward stiffer and stiffer fines and incarceration, as well as greater driver’s license suspensions, only illustrates how important it is to find the best DUI lawyer in Kansas that you can possibly find to investigate and defend your case in every allegation. The days of a first time DUI being no big deal and something that an individual could handle on his or her own, without an attorney, are long gone. Every single DUI charge counts and will result in very harsh ramifications on an individual’s quality of life and ability to make a living. Every single DUI charge will come back to haunt you later in some way, especially if you are ever accused again. The first DUI is the one to fight, to avoid being sucked in to the ever deepening black hole that has become Kansas DUI law.