DUI Library: Kansas

Man Must Put DUI Sticker on Car

WICHITA, Feb. 20 – Ever since Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Yost started his rotation through traffic court, he’s been making headlines. First he exercised a little used option to send first-time DUI offenders to jail, now he’s hit a repeat offender with a modern day version of the Scarlet Letter by making him publicly identify himself every time he gets behind the wheel .

Curtis Mollinelli, 36, was sentenced Friday afternoon for his fifth DUI in the last five years and his eighth DUI conviction in his 20 years of driving. Yost sentenced Mollenelli to jail time, fined him, ordered him into alcohol treatment and gave him a window sticker identifying him as a DUI offender. Mollenelli will have to display the sticker in any car he drives for the two years he’s on probation. The sticker comes off easily so Mollenelli can move it with him from car to car, and so anyone else who drives Mollenelli’s car won’t be branded as a DUI offender.

Mary Ann Khoury, who runs the DUI Victim Center in Wichita, says the sentence is about safety and education. “I think the community wants to know who the drunk drivers are on our roads.â€

Mollenelli agrees he should pay for what he’s done, and calls his sentence “fair.†He says he hopes it will help other people learn from his mistakes. Yost wouldn’t comment on the sentence, but from the bench he said Mollenelli would benefit from a daily reminder of his probation. If Mollenelli doesn’t use the sticker when driving, his probation will be revoked and he’ll serve a year behind bars.

Kansas DUI Penalties are Severe

Kansas DUI Penalties are Severe

There is no question that drunk driving can lead to injury and even loss of life, and that should be enough incentive to take responsibility. The Kansas Legislature recently enacted measures designed to further deter drunk driving by raising fines and mandating harsh penalties.

For the first Kansas DUI arrest there is a $500-1,000 fine and automatic jail time. The fine increases to a minimum $2,500 fine by the fourth DUI offense. That fourth DUI arrest can also mean the permanent suspension of a driver’s license.

While the first and second DUI convictions are still misdemeanors, subsequent DUI arrests will be prosecuted as felonies.

There is a new $1,500 fine and at least 90 days of jail time if you refuse to submit to a breath test or provide a blood sample.

A Kansas DUI arrest also incurs financial burdens in the form of safe driving programs, court costs, counseling or rehabilitation, auto insurance, car impound and attorney’s fees.

Your arrest record will now remain in the public domain too. A Kansas DUI attorney could get those records sealed five years after an offense. The new legislation takes away the possibility of getting prior convictions expunged.