This study examines the special deterrent effects of alternative sanctions on first-time offenders convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI). It uses a quasi-experimental design based on the fact that in Hennepin County, Minnesotan, some judges did not comply with the judicial policy that mandated a two-day jail sentence for all first-time DWI offenders. Data were collected on all drunk driving cases adjudicated by two judges during an 1 l-month period. One judge was known to sentence few first offenders to jail; the other was reputed to sentence virtually all first offenders to jail. Of the 383 offenders sentenced by the two judges, 60 were reconvicted within the 23-month follow-up period. Using judge as an indirect measure of the jail sanction, we found no statistically significant difference in the recidivism rates of persons sentenced by the "jail" and '*no jail" judges. Nor did the sanction have a direct effect. After statistically controlling for offender characteristics and prior traffic record, there was no significant difference between those sentenced to a fine (large or small) with no jail and those who were given a two-day jail sentence plus a small fine. Thus, a two-day jail stay is found to be no more effective in deterring subsequent drunk driving by convicted first offenders than an alternative monetary sanction