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321J.2 Operating while under the influence of alcohol or a drug or while having an alcohol concentration of .10 or more (OWI).

1. A person commits the offense of operating while intoxicated if the person operates a motor vehicle in this state in either of the following conditions:

a. While under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or other drug or a combination of such substances.

b. While having an alcohol concentration as defined in section 321J.1 of .10 or more.

2. A person who violates this section commits:

a. A serious misdemeanor for the first offense and shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than forty-eight hours to be served as ordered by the court, less credit for any time the person was confined in a jail or detention facility following arrest, and assessed a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars. As an alternative to a portion or all of the fine, the court may order the person to perform not more than two hundred hours of unpaid community service. The court may accommodate the sentence to the work schedule of the defendant.

b. An aggravated misdemeanor for a second offense and shall be imprisoned in the county jail or community-based correctional facility not less than seven days, which minimum term cannot be suspended notwithstanding section 901.5, subsection 3 and section 907.3, subsection 3, and assessed a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars.

c. A class "D" felony for a third offense and each subsequent offense and shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a determinate sentence of not more than one year but not less than thirty days, or committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections, and assessed a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars. The minimum jail term of thirty days cannot be suspended notwithstanding section 901.5, subsection 3, and section 907.3, subsection 3, however, the person sentenced shall receive credit for any time the person was confined in a jail or detention facility following arrest. If a person is committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections pursuant to this paragraph and the sentence is suspended, the sentencing court shall order that the offender serve the thirty-day minimum term in the county jail. If the sentence which commits the person to the custody of the director of the department of corrections is later imposed by the court, all time served in a county jail toward the thirty-day minimum term shall count as time served toward the sentence which committed the person to the custody of the director of the department of corrections. A person convicted of a second or subsequent offense shall be ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation prior to sentencing. If a person is convicted of a third or subsequent offense or if the evaluation recommends treatment, the offender may be committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections, who, if the sentence is not suspended, shall assign the person to a facility pursuant to section 904.513 or the offender may be committed to treatment in the community under the provisions of section 907.6.

A minimum term of imprisonment in a county jail or community-based correctional facility imposed on a person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under paragraph "b" or "c" shall be served on consecutive days. However, if the sentencing court finds that service of the full minimum term on consecutive days would work an undue hardship on the person, or finds that sufficient jail space is not available and is not reasonably expected to become available within four months after sentencing to incarcerate the person serving the minimum sentence on consecutive days, the court may order the person to serve not less than forty-eight consecutive hours of the minimum term and to perform a specified number of hours of unpaid community service as deemed appropriate by the sentencing court.

3. No conviction for, deferred judgment for, or plea of guilty to, a violation of this section which occurred more than six years prior to the date of the violation charged shall be considered in determining that the violation charged is a second, third, or subsequent offense. For the purpose of determining if a violation charged is a second, third, or subsequent offense, deferred judgments pursuant to section 907.3 for violations of this section and convictions or the equivalent of deferred judgments for violations in any other states under statutes substantially corresponding to this section shall be counted as previous offenses. The courts shall judicially notice the statutes of other states which define offenses substantially equivalent to the one defined in this section and can therefore be considered corresponding statutes. Each previous violation on which conviction or deferral of judgment was entered prior to the date of the violation charged shall be considered and counted as a separate previous offense.

4. A person shall not be convicted and sentenced for more than one violation of this section if the violation is shown to have been committed by either or both of the means described in subsection 1 in the same occurrence.

5. The clerk of court shall immediately certify to the department a true copy of each order entered with respect to deferral of judgment, deferral of sentence or pronouncement of judgment and sentence for a defendant under this section.

6. This section does not apply to a person operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a drug if the substance was prescribed for the person and was taken under the prescription and in accordance with the directions of a medical practitioner as defined in chapter 155A, if there is no evidence of the consumption of alcohol and the medical practitioner had not directed the person to refrain from operating a motor vehicle.

7. In any prosecution under this section, evidence of the results of analysis of a specimen of the defendant's blood, breath, or urine is admissible upon proof of a proper foundation. The alcohol concentration established by the results of an analysis of a specimen of the defendant's blood, breath, or urine withdrawn within two hours after the defendant was driving or in physical control of a motor vehicle is presumed to be the alcohol concentration at the time of driving or being in physical control of the motor vehicle.

8. The court shall order a defendant convicted of or receiving a deferred judgment for a violation of this section to make restitution, in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars, for damages resulting directly from the violation. An amount paid pursuant to this restitution order shall be credited toward any adverse judgment in a subsequent civil proceeding arising from the same occurrence. However, other than establishing a credit, a restitution proceeding pursuant to this section shall not be given evidentiary or preclusive effect in a subsequent civil proceeding arising from the same occurrence.

9. In any prosecution under this section, the results of a chemical test may not be used to prove a violation of paragraph "b" of subsection 1 if the alcohol concentration indicated by the chemical test minus the established margin of error inherent in the device or method used to conduct the chemical test does not equal an alcohol concentration of .10 or more.

Section History: Recent form

86 Acts, ch 1220, § 2; 87 Acts, ch 118, § 4; 87 Acts, ch 215, § 46; 90 Acts, ch 1233, § 20; 90 Acts, ch 1251, § 33

Internal References

Referred to in § 232.22, 321.12, 321.213, 321.555, 321J.3, 321J.4, 321J.4A, 321J.5, 321J.6, 321J.9, 321J.10, 321J.12, 321J.13, 321J.15, 321J.16, 321J.20, 321J.22, 321J.24, 602.6201, 602.6306, 602.8102(51), 707.6A, 804.31, 902.3, 902.9, 907.3, 912.1


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