Clients who have prior DUI convictions often wonder if that will be used to determine guilt or innocence in a new DUI trial. The general answer is: NO. Under Alabama law, the prosecution may not use a prior DUI conviction to somehow prove to the jury (or a judge depending on which court you are in) that he/she was guilty on the present DUI charge. The law follows common sense in this respect. It is nearly impossible for one to think that someone who “did it before” didn’t do it this time. 
In Alabama, a felony DUI deals with prior DUI convictions. Up until the late 1990s, in a felony DUI prosecution the jury would learn that the defendant had at least three prior DUIs. As you can imagine the chances of being found not guilty on the fourth (or more) significantly decreased. But that law has changed and the prior DUI convictions are presented to the Judge as a sentencing mechanism and not in the guilt or innocence phase. This goes back to a prior post where if someone thinks they are simply paying a fine/doing some classes, they are shocked to learn they have actually pled guilty to DUI.
HOWEVER, an attorney can make a mistake and “open the door.” This means that if the defense attorney asks the wrong question to a witness, including his own client, then the otherwise inadmissible evidence, now comes before the jury. It can be devastating to someone who is charged with DUI. It is another reason (of the thousands) to make sure you have an experienced DUI defense attorney.
