Griswold v. Commonwealth

SENIOR JUSTICE WHITING

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is an appeal of a conviction for operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants (DUI), as a second conviction within 5 to 10 years of a first DUI conviction. The primary issue involves the introduction into evidence of two prior DUI convictions in which the defendant was unrepresented by counsel.

In June 1983, Norman Edward Griswold was convicted of a DUI offense and sentenced to 30 days in jail, the entirety of the sentence being suspended. Griswold was again convicted of a DUI offense in January 1985. Because his 1985 DUI…