Hey ya'll my name is Mark(live in Alabama) and I am being charged with my 2nd dui within a 5 year period. I know how stupid was that ! I have the possibility of spending 5days in jail or 30 days community service. I want to know what will happen if I am given 5days in jail. Will I be taken right then to jail ? what will happen when I get to the jail ? really need some answers about processing.

First welcome to PTO ! Everyone makes mistakes in their life! You might want to check out our drugs & alcohol treatment forum. As for your 5 days in jail, I know here in WV they give you a surrender date ~ in some cases they let you set it so you dont lose your job. Good luck! You may want to check out the Alabama forum too!

Hi Mark, I have moved this thread to the Alabama forum, the members here will be able to help you and answer all of your questions.

Best of luck to you,
Baileyjojoms

I know here in Canada if you have a short sentence they let you serve it on weekends. Go in Friday night stay there until Sunday night.

Oh and also Mark, I almost got a second DUI, but for some reason the cop let me go. I have no idea why, because he knew I was drunk. If he had taken me in it would have been minimum 14 days in jail. I got very lucky. It was also one of those situations that made me realize I had to stop drinking, because when I started to drink I didn't think about the consequnces of my actions.

I haven't had a drink since the DUI, 14hrs in the drunk tank and being made to sleep on the concrete was enough to knock some sense into me. I hope to God if the judge does do the mandatory 5 days he will give me a surender date. I'm really praying for the alternative they have which is the 30 day community service. I know already about the court referrel program and how that works ( or doesn't work). Love my AA though, and other therapy. I have been doing a lot of volunteer work since the dui and have put in 16 AA meetings, and also ( if I get to walk the day of the court ) I will be on the domestic violence hotline as a volunteer. People and places I have volunteered have written letters and got them faxed to my attorney giving me great reviews, as well as my doctor. This whole thing has made me do an about face . I'm small statured , and jail scares the crap out of me. Lonely days, and being bored out of my mind, and eating really bad food. Good news I guess is I would be able to quite smoking (not by my choice though) , if given 5 days.

I have already got a money order for the commissary for hygeine stuff,and some books,and a headset radio they allow , for just in case.

Hi Mark,

I'm pretty familiar with processing for the Alabama state prison system but not familiar at all with the county jail system and would guess that most of all of them run slightly differently. Hopefully some of our Alabama members who have experience with how things go when you're going into a county jail will be able to be of more help.

RE the smoking tho - good luck to you if you have to - most of the state corrections facilities do not have smoking restrictions tho so I'm going to guess that's true too of many of the county facilities - however again, do not know for sure...

The county facilities are smoke free. so I can only imagine the stress level is pretty high from people going through withdrawal. Anyway, my day in court is this Wednesday ( plea day ) and my attorney said she has several plea bargains to present to the DA ,and hopefully he will agree to one of them, or I gotta make a quick diccission ( sp) ,and I'm terrible at those during stressful times. I would love it if the judge has read the Bham news about the overcrowding,and alternative sentences that the Alabama supreme court is trying to get the judges to do.

Hello Mark & Welcome To PTO!

Welcome to PTO, I had a friend get arrested on his 2nd DUI a few years back and they gave him a weekend in county jail, they gave him a date to report to county jail. Good luck in court Wednesday...

Ask God to give you strength for what is to come. Only through him are you able to overcome( as you have already it seems.) Give your worries to Jesus brother, and he will help you...You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Thank you Revjeff for your thoughts and prayers. I do have a huge prayer chain going right now, If the worst comes and I do go to Columbiana jail I know Christ will not forsake me . I do feel kinda confidant that everything will do well Wednesday, and so does everyone else . I Just want to get it over with ,and get on with life instead of having to feel like life is standing still. One incouraging thing is one of the places I have been volunteering doing data entry is going to hire me after this crap is over with. They are very supportive of me since I have told them everything. They said " People do make mistakes" it's okay. So I do have something to look forward to .Employment again after 2 yrs of major depression.

You've got a great attitude brother, hang in there.

Hey Bamaguy! My younger son spent 60 days in jail for a repeat DUI. He didn't mind it too much. He was allowed out during the day to wash police cars and do other chores. He also watched TV and read some books. I would rather do the 5 days and get it over with then to do the community service....but the choice is yours. My son also is 18 months clean and sober! He regularly attends his meetings and has a sponsor. (very important!)

Good luck!:thumbsup:

Kay

guess what !I got to court today and spend 45minutes waiting, and come to find out my court date has been conitinued for the 3rd time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, you talkin about stress ,anxiety ! this crap ticks me off. I want it over with. NOw !

Just want to wish you luck for when you do get to court!!

And welcome you to PTO!!

I'm very sorry you are having to wait - again. That's the court system for ya!

And Kay, hi there :) I'm so glad to hear your boy is continuing to do so well. Continued success to him :)

Hugs, Linda

Update : I had to go to my dmv hearing alone for the suspension of my dl last Tuesday alone b/c my attorney never returned my call. I had a stay put on my dl and wanted to know from my attorney if I still needed to go, but I never heard a word from her. I went and presented the "stay" to the two state troopers who held the meeting, and they told me Montgomery never received the stay notice ! They asked me tons of questions which I didn't know how to answer ( but tried my best to answer) and came out sounding like an idiot. Today is the 20th of Jan, and still haven't heard from my attorney,and as much as I paid her to represent me ( I don't care about her other cases or trials) she should return a call from her client. Anyway my nerves are shot,Im constintely (sp) tired all the time,and I just want whatever is gonna happen, to happen and get this over with.

Oh gosh, Mark... I'm sorry to hear they are giving you such a runaround and a hard time with all this, I know it's got to be frustrating beyond belief. And know all too well the waiting is the worst part on anything to do with the judicial and corrections systems. Hang in there, buddy... hope things start looking a little brighter (or at least less full of anxiety-inducing crap) soon!!!!

Oh man...i hate to hear that...Your attorney should return your call and hopefully very soon she will...I know it is very frustrating dealing with all of this and like Lysbeth said the waiting is the worst part. We are here for you,....

Don't do your time on the weekends, if you have a choice. All the other weekenders come in then, not to mention everyone they pick up on the streets Friday and Saturday night. My finance did 60 days on weekends in Tuscaloosa county and it was hell. He had been in prison 30 yrs ago (and nothing else since) and he said weekends in Tuscaloosa County was worse than prison. Particularly after a Tide home game! Columbiana may not be too bad. Your lawyer or someone else you can trust like a cop or someone else in the judiciary can give you good advice on the details. I pray you get community service and not jail time. I am a firm believer in not putting drunks and druggies in prison, if their only crime is possession or being drunk/high. You can pay your debt back to society in a better way with community service and it will probably bless you more than the other way around. Most jails are full of sorry lazy punks, if you have to do the time, you will be fine.
God Bless you and your loved ones

KatKat

Hello and welcome to PTO :)

That's not true, every county jail my husband's ever been in has allowed smoking. But you have to post whay city your in or county so we know what to tell you about what. And really only 5 days sure there are ways to get out of it and such but I wouldn't think you'd need a forum to help you with that - regular internet research should be enough to get you off if it's possible.