2/22/16 180-day jail sentence for second offense misdemeanor .20% Extreme DUI is not unconstitutional because it is greater than the 4-month minimum sentence than for a felony DUI.
The mandatory minimum sentence for a second offense misdemeanor .20% Extreme DUI is 180 days in jail. The mandatory minimum for a Class 4 felony DUI is 4 months in prison. In State v. Monfeli, the defendant was sentenced to 180 days in jail after he was convicted of a misdemeanor second offense .20% Extreme DUI. On appeal he argued the equal protection and due process clauses of the Federal and Arizona Constitutions barred a more severe sentence for a misdemeanor than for a felony.
The court of appeals held that when looking at the whole effect of the sentencing, the 180-day misdemeanor sentence was not more severe that the 4-month felony sentence because of other effects of a felony versus a misdemeanor conviction. For example serving a felony sentence in state prison is more severe than serving a misdemeanor sentence in county jail. Also the collateral consequences of a felony conviction, such as loss of gun rights, are more severe on a person’s life than for a misdemeanor. Thus looking at the sentencing as a whole the minimum 180-day misdemeanor sentence was not more severe than the minimum 4-month felony sentence.
https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2014/CR%2013-0126.pdf
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