Legal Question in DUI Law in Louisiana

Re: what is article 894

As it applies to a DWI in Louisiana, Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894 allows the court to suspend imposition or execution of sentence and place the defendant on probation for a period of 2 years or less. In the 14th Judicial District, the court ordinarily places first offenders on unsupervised probation for a period of 1 year. At the end of the probationary period, the defendant may petition the court to set the conviction aside and dismiss the prosecution. If the court is satisfied that a defendant has not been convicted of any other offense during the probationary period, and no charge is pending, the court may set the conviction aside. The end result is that the public record will show it as an aquittal. However, the court is required to order the clerk of court to furnish the state department of motor vehicles with a certified copy of the plea, where it will be kept, confidentially (supposedly), for 10 years. The reason for that is, if the defendant gets another DWI, or several, the first one CAN be used to inhance the penalty for the subsequent DWI(s) even though it was dismissed under 894. A defendant who pleas under 894 to a DWI, may not do so again for 10 years. 894 can be used for a second offense DWI, only if 894 was not used previously. 894 is a good way for someone who will not drink and drive again, or who is trying to get his life together, to keep a clean driving record.