On occasion, a person will get two or more DUIs within a short period of time. Sometimes when this occurs, the person gets the second DUI before appearing in court on the first DUI. Or, he may get the second DUI sometime during the course of appearing in court on the first DUI offense.
Where the defendant is arrested for a new DUI while on bond for a prior DUI, the new arrest can have penalties in the first case. The procedure in which this takes place is called violation of bail bond. It can lead to the defendant going to jail.
When the defendant is released from custody of the police on the first DUI offense, the police officer typically has him sign a signature bond (also called a recognizance bond). The driver surrenders his driver’s license and signs the recognizance bond as a promise to appear for each and every court date and also to comply with the terms and conditions of bond.
On each signature bond form, there is fine print listing all the rules of bond. By signing the bond, the defendant is agreeing to comply with these rules, such as not leaving the state without court permission.
The most important rule while on bond is not to violate the law. A second DUI arrest is a violation of this bond rule. It does not matter whether the defendant has been found guilty of the second offense.
A new arrest for DUI while one bond will cause the State’s Attorney to file a motion to revoke bond. In Cook County courts, this motion is called a violation of bail bond. The motion ask the court to either revoke the defendant’s recognizance bond or increase the bond so that he must post money in order to be released before trial.
A denial of bond is termed “no bail.” This is very rare. All criminal offenses in Illinois are bailable, meaning the defendant has a right to post bail to be released prior to trial. Nonetheless, there some exceptions where the defendant has no right to bail, such as first degree murder where the State is seeking the death penalty. See 725 ILCS 5/110-4(a). DUI is a bailable offense, so the defendant has a right to post bond.
Imposing a cash bond occurs daily in Illinois courtrooms. Illinois law has prohibited the use of bail bondsmen, so for any bond, the defendant must post 10 percent of the value of the bond in order to be released. For example, a $10,000 bond would require the defendant to post $1,000.
If the defendant posts bond, he would be subject to any additional terms and conditions set by the judge. These new rules can include house arrest, curfew, pretrial supervision, random testing for alcohol and drugs, no driving without a valid license or permit, etc.
Even if the second DUI arrest has no evidence of guilt, the court can still increase the defendant’s bond on the first case. The reason is, for purposes of bond, it is assumed that the prosecution’s allegations are true. See 725 ILCS 5/110-5(a).
The statute that allows the court to increase the defendant’s bond is 725 ILCS 5/110-6, and it provides the following:
Violation of the conditions of Section 110‑10 of this Code or any special conditions of bail as ordered by the court shall constitute grounds for the court to increase the amount of bail, or otherwise alter the conditions of bail.
See 725 ILCS 5/110-6(b).
