What is the 'penalty-enhancement' period?

What is the 'penalty-enhancement' period?

Neil Shouse (Defense Attorney) gives expert video advice on: What are criminal punishments for DUI?; What are the civil punishments for DUI?; Does DUI punishment differ in each state? and more...

The penalty-enhancement period, also sometimes called the window of prior ability, is the period of time after a DUI in which picking up a new DUI offense would cause the new offense to be considered a multiple offense. For example, in California the penalty-enhancement period is ten years. That means if you were to get a DUI suppose in 2007 and convicted in 2007 and you were to pick up another DUI conviction over the next ten years, up until 2017, the new DUI conviction would be considered a second offense and the penalties would be exponentially greater. If your new DUI did not occur until 2018, outside this ten year penalty-enhancement period, then it would once again be considered a first offense.