Nicole Richie has an earlier DUI and could be sent to jail for 5 days


Nicole Richie’s high-profile arrest for driving the wrong way on the freeway this week wasn’t the first time she was nabbed for driving under the influence. Richie pled guilty to DUI four years ago, and according to TMZ if she’s convicted of DUI again she’ll have to serve a mandatory five day jail sentence.

TMZ has found court documents which reveal that Richie pled no contest four years ago to driving under the influence. Under California law, if Richie is convicted of DUI as a result of Monday’s arrest, the judge must impose a jail sentence.

The law requires a mandatory sentence of five consecutive days in county jail as well as a one year license suspension for anyone twice-convicted of DUI. In addition, Richie would be ordered to attend an alcohol education program for a year-and-a-half, even if the second conviction is not alcohol-related.

As TMZ first reported, Richie admitted to CHP officers that she had taken Vicodin and smoked pot before driving the wrong way on a Burbank freeway. A field sobriety test revealed she was not under the influence of alcohol.

Although Richie was under the influence of non-alcoholic drugs, it might not matter in court. She was clearly impaired and should not have been driving. Maybe she can call up Michelle Rodriguez for some tips on how to get all her fellow inmates singing showtunes.

In Richie’s previous DUI offense in 2002 she blew a .12. and a .13, and the limit for impairment is .08. At that time she told officers that she had a shot of vodka. Her license was suspended for a year and she had three years probation. She got arrested again for driving with a suspended license and possession of heroin just six months after that.

During her latest DUI arrest, Richie said that she had only eaten french fries that day.

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2 Responses to “Nicole Richie has an earlier DUI and could be sent to jail for 5 days”

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  1. phin says:

    This could suck big time for her. With five days is a minimum required sentence. Depending on the judge she could get up to a year.

    A guy I worked with several years back was in a similar situation. He thought he’d get the five days and be back out in no time. Evidently he said the wrong things and got six months.

    As much as she’s been in the news for partying she may be in pretty deep.

  2. Ash says:

    Actually the comment about her only having eating french fries that day was from when she was arrested in 2002, not this week.