DUI amended to 1st? Various states? Etc?

[justme68154]

Heya. I'm in Nebraska.

Ok... so a friend and I are trying to figure out how exactly how DUI law usually works. We came up with 4 fairly difficult questions to find answers to.

1. My 2nd DUI was amended to a DUI 1st offense by the prosecutor. What does that mean if I were to get another DUI? Would my third be charged as a second, as my second was amended to a first?
(Not that that'll happen - on the rare occasion that I do drink now, I usually don't drink enough to get drunk, and even then, if I have more than 2 beers, I walk or take a cab.)

2. If I were to move to another state (which I do plan on doing this year), and got a DUI - would that be a first (does it go state-to-state?) - or does a DUI follow you nationwide?

3. If one state will let a DUI fall off the record after x amount of years (not sure how many it is in Nebraska), and another state will let a DUI fall off after a different amount of years, how would that work for a subsequent DUI? Example: If Nebraska will let a DUI come off the record after, say, 10 years, but another state lets it drop after only 5, and one were to get a DUI in that 2nd state after 6 or 7 years from getting one in the first state, what happens? I guess that question isn't valid if DUIs don't follow from state to state.

4. If laws change for how long a DUI takes to fall off the record, will those with DUIs already on record be grandfathered for the old amount of years?
Example - if my state lets a DUI fall after 5 years, and it's been 2 years, then a law changes and says it's now 10 years - would I still only have to wait for 3 years for it to fall, or would it now be 8 years?

I guess none of these questions matter very much - but we're curious as to how those scenarios would work out. Thanks for reading!

 

[FlyingRon]

1. My 2nd DUI was amended to a DUI 1st offense by the prosecutor. What does that mean if I were to get another DUI? Would my third be charged as a second, as my second was amended to a first?

It would be your third if all three convictions were in the 12 year lookback.

2. If I were to move to another state (which I do plan on doing this year), and got a DUI - would that be a first (does it go state-to-state?) - or does a DUI follow you nationwide?

Where you "move" is immaterial. It's where you get convicted. It's up to that state to decide how to count priors. Many will count them.

3. If one state will let a DUI fall off the record after x amount of years (not sure how many it is in Nebraska), and another state will let a DUI fall off after a different amount of years, how would that work for a subsequent DUI?

Your DUI will *NEVER* fall off your record. Criminal convictions are forever.
What will happen is that Nebraska, for instance, will not *COUNT* a prior that's more than 12 years earlier as a conviction for the statutory punishment purposes. Note that a judge can consider the older convictions when considering any discretionary amount of punishment. Again, the laws of the state in which you are being CHARGED is the operative law.

4. If laws change for how long a DUI takes to fall off the record, will those with DUIs already on record be grandfathered for the old amount of years?

It would depend on the state and the how the legislation changed the law. I an tell you that in California, for instance, when they extended the lookback that it applied to convictions that had already "fallen off" as you say.

 

[justme68154]

Interesting. Thanks for the reply.
So... as far as the 12 year lookback goes - If a 1st DUI occurred, then a 2nd occurred, say, 5 years later, then another happened around 8 or 9 years later, would the first two be considered, or just the first?
In other words, does a subsequent one keep the one before that from being not considered?