I got a second DUI this month and just had my court appearance this Wednesday.
I pled not guilty and applied for a court appointed attorney. The judge required me to do the 24/7 sobriety program. What will happen if I don't follow through with the program or don't show up?
What is the name of your state, Rlens?
If you were arrested for a DUI and you pled not guilty - but refuse to comply with the conditions of the court-ordered 24/7 sobriety program - you will be re-arrested and charged with contempt of a court order. You will then have to wait in jail pending your trial. At your trial, you will either be found guilty of a second DUI, and suffer whatever consequences come from that (which will include loss of your drivers license), or you will be found not guilty of your second DUI.
The 24/7 program is a condition of
release (and can also be a condition of your sentencing or your probation). The program allows you to stay out of jail and it allows you to drive, as long as you report twice a day to a designated police agency for a breathalyzer test. If you miss one of the tests or if you fail one of the tests, however, you are immediately re-arrested and jailed.
The fees you are charged for the breathalyzer testing have already been upheld as Constitutional by at least one state supreme court. Here is a link to the Montana Law Review and the questions that were raised by the 24/7 program and its Constitutionality, in the case
State v. Spady, when Spady challenged the program:
http://www.montanalawreview.org//precap-spady-v-state-the-24-7-sobriety-program-might-work-but-is-it-legal.html
The Montana Supreme Court found the testing fees were comparable to bail and not a pretrial punishment.
In those states that have a 24/7 program, the majority of those arrested for drunk driving and who are released under 24/7, are compliant with the conditions of release (according to state statistics).