ByJohn Kirzno -

Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any other controlled substance cannot only be very dangerous but it can also lead to severe consequences. Those consequences can include the suspension of your driver’s license, major fines, possible jail time, and the most severe consequence of them all is death. The final consequence of death can be the death of the person who was involved in a drunk driving incident or the death of a passenger, a pedestrian, or a driver in another vehicle on the road at the time of the incident.

The first of the four major consequences of drunk driving, driver license suspension, can alter your life almost immediately. Being of legal age to operate a vehicle and without a license can cause you to lose money, miss school, and miss family or friend activities. Not being able to drive oneself to and from work can cost you money in the event that you routinely arrive late, which could cost you the job. You might also have to spend more money on public transportation than you ever have before, taking away from the money you bring in from your job.

The second of the four major consequences, major fines, will set you back financially for quite some time. The fines incurred from a drunk driving charge and eventual conviction can be in the thousands and must be paid to state and federal authorities depending on the state in which the incident took place. If you do not have the money to pay those fines when they are charged to you, it is possible that you could face jail time, even if you were not facing jail time originally. The best way to avoid all of these penalties is to never get behind the wheel of a vehicle after having adult beverages.

The third of the four major consequences of drunk driving, possible jail time, depends on the state laws in which the incident took place and how many times you have been charged with this crime. If you are a second, third, or fourth time offender, you will be subject to jail time in almost all 50 states of the country. This means that you will have to begin serving your jail time almost immediately, sometimes right after being arrested by the officer who pulled you over on the roads.

The fourth of the four major consequences of drunk driving, death, is the most serious of them all. Anyone involved in a DUI accident can be hurt or even killed, no matter if they were the one drunk at the time of driving the vehicle or not. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a very dangerous risk to take, especially if you have passengers in your car alongside you. You risk not only your own life but also the lives of those in your car and the lives of those around you on the road when driving drunk. You can call the nearest DUI attorney for this.

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By Robert Shorn -

Once a person has put some alcohol into their body, their emotions and physical being are already significantly changed. They may still be under the legal limit of intoxication but this does not mean that their faculties are not significantly changed.

There are laws in place that forbid people from operating any kind of heavy machinery after they have been drinking alcohol for obvious reason. It impairs your judgement and increases the risk of injury dramatically.

It is however very common to hear that one individual or the next did not obey this law. More and more people are losing their lives on a daily basis because a driver got behind the wheel drunk and caused an accident along the way.

After concerns of airline pilots flying large commercial planes while under the influence came up, laws similar to driving under the influence were also passed for commercial airline pilots.

As we have all seen, not all the drivers in the world really care about these laws all the time. It is the same problem with our pilots as well, not all of them really take these laws seriously because they feel as though they are above the law. The pilots who fly private planes never have to go under any alcohol tests and thus are more likely to ignore these laws than their counterparts who fly commercial jets.

It is therefore not unheard of that there is a plane in the sky that is being flown miles by a drunken pilot. They do not realize that their vision is impaired and they also cannot coordinate as well as when they are sober so the risk of them crashing the aircraft is much higher than if they were just driving the plane without any distractions. It sounds absolutely crazy, but this kind of stuff actually does happen on occasion.

The passengers in the plane, pilots flying with them or in other planes and even the people on the ground are thus all in danger due to this drunken pilot. Depending on the attitude that the plane may crash from and the size of the aircraft and how much jet fuel it has, the crashes can be extremely fatal.

Should you survive such a crash caused by a drunken pilot, you should seek legal counsel so that you can get compensation for your injuries. There is no way that this should happen under any circumstances.

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By Alan Flemming -

Driving while intoxicated cases can be prosecuted on one of two theories: Either the state will try to establish that a person was operating a motor vehicle during a time they were (meaning that they suffered a loss of control of their natural thought and faculties as the result of ingesting alcohol and/or drugs), or by violating the per se law, meaning that they drove with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more.

They are usually misdemeanor crimes, but the penalties in Indiana drunk driving cases can increase drastically in scenarios where the alcohol level is.15% or more.

In some states, DUI arrests lead to the law enforcement officer choosing a choice of blood, breath or urine testing to determine the alcohol content of the person arrested for drunk driving. These states, the person arrested for drunk driving has no right to select the test, nor any right to talk with an attorney ahead of deciding whether or not to submit to the test.

The cop should revoke your license at the point of your arrest and give you a receipt for it. You are not suspended when the police officer takes your license. The truth is, you can apply for a temporary license until your suspension. A temporary license is a very good idea for identification purposes to save you humiliation when asked for I.D. Obviously, once the Court or BMV tells you that you are suspended, you can no longer drive and your temporary license is not valid for driving or identification.

In some states, like Indiana, there are at least three (3) recidivist or repeat offender consequences for DWI. First, and most severe, is habitual substance offender statute that could produce up to 8 more years in jail if filed against a client with two (2) or more prior violations. Second, a felony DWI usually entails a prior violations within 5 years of the current charge. Finally, habitual traffic violator status is added on DUI violators who build up three (3) DUI’s in a ten (10) year period. Therefore, the prior offenses can be a significant part of the case. Your attorney must study the validity of the prior violation and figure out if post-conviction relief might eliminate one of those offenses.

If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving in Indiana, your first step should be to consult with an experienced Indiana DUI lawyer. Don’t face the criminal justice on your own. Indiana DUI laws can be complicated. Get the assistance of a local legal professional first.

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By Craig Cahoon -

Successfully navigating your way through a criminal prosecution for Driving Under the Influence in Washington State requires a clear understanding of the DUI court process. In other words, knowing what is coming your way will greatly reduce the amount of stress you feel when fighting a DUI charge.

Although each Court System in Washington varies a little on how they handle the initial stages of a criminal prosecution, the basic outline below will help you understand the Court process as a whole:

When you get arrested for a crime, you will have several court dates to go through. Your first time in Court is called an Arraignment. Your next court date is called a Pre-Trial or Status Conference. You may also have court dates for Motions or Trial.

Arraignment

This is your first time in Court and it’s where you are formally told about the charges against you. In the case of DUI, you may already know what the charge is before you even enter the Courtroom. However, there can be additional charges that you were unaware of like infractions for bad driving or additional criminal charges the prosecution filed after your arrest for DUI.

Depending on Jurisdiction, you will either be mailed a Hearing Notice or you will have to look on your citation (about 1/3 from the bottom) where it says Mandatory Court Appearance for your court date and time. If you’re not sure about the date or the time, call the Court Clerk’s Office (numbers are available via internet). The Court you are in is listed at the top of the citation, e.g. a citation marked “District Court” and the offense happened in Snohomish County , you would do an internet search for “Snohomish County District Court.”

Arrive a few minutes early. Most courts will have a computer printout of all the people scheduled for court that day, called a docket. These printouts are generally in plain sight near the courtrooms. Next to your name will be a courtroom number. That’s where you need to go. If you get confused or can’t find your courtroom, ask at the Court Clerk’s office – they are generally very helpful.

Once you get to the right courtroom, be prepared to wait. Most Courts will have either a video or a paper that explains your rights at arraignment. If it’s a paper, they will want you to sign your name – saying that you understand your rights.

Eventually, you will be called up in front of the Judge. Don’t Panic. This is not your time to explain what happened – there will be ample time for that later. All the Judge wants to know at Arraignment is whether you understand the charge(s) against you and whether you want to plead Guilty or Not Guilty. That’s it.

Common sense would tell you that if you did something wrong, you should take it easy on the Court System by pleading guilty and the Court System will take it easy on you by not sentencing you as hard as if you fought the charges. Unfortunately, the Court System is not always based on common sense. In fact, you will most likely be punished worse if you plead guilty at arraignment rather than fighting the charge(s). In other words, DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY!

Once you have pled Not Guilty, the Court will ask you about whether you want a lawyer. The old cliché about “The man that represents himself has a fool for a client” is very true. If you don’t understand the rules of court and the law regarding DUI (or any other crime) you don’t stand a chance against a well trained prosecutor.

Lawyers come in two flavors: Private and Public Defenders. You do not need to have a lawyer with you at arraignment. If you are planning on hiring a private attorney, you need only tell the Judge that and he or she will be satisfied – but will warn you not to wait too long to hire them. If you can’t afford a lawyer of your own choosing then you may qualify for a Public Defender. The Court will have a series of questions for you in order to determine whether or not you qualify based on your income, dependants, etc. The downside with a Public Defender is that you have no control over who is appointed to your case. Even if you qualify and have a Public Defender represent you, you can always have a private attorney take over at any time. It’s very common for people with a Public Defender to hire a private attorney – so don’t worry, your Public Defender will not be upset if you replace them with a private attorney – they may even be relieved since it means one less case to handle.

After the Judge addresses the issue of your Lawyer, the Court will then address your release status. If you have a clean record, you will probably be released on your promise to come back. If you have a criminal record, the Judge may impose a bail or bond amount to ensure you will come back.

The Court will assign a date when you will need to come back for your Pre-Trial hearing. If you can’t make it on that date, make sure to tell the Judge about your conflict so another date can be picked. If a conflict comes up later, contact your lawyer immediately so he or she can file a motion for continuance of the court date.

You will leave with Court with a piece of paper telling you the date and time of your next court date. Don’t be surprised if this is two to three months from your arraignment date. This may seem like a long time but don’t wait – if you need to find an attorney start immediately as it may take a long time to find the one you want and to get the money together to hire them.

Once you’ve hired your attorney, that person will need to send in a Notice of Appearance, telling the Court and Prosecution that they represent you. They will also need time to get all of the Police Reports and other documents the Prosecution intends on using against you (collectively referred to as Discovery). After your attorney has all of the Discovery, they will need to sit down with you face to face and discuss your case. One of the bizarre rules in Washington State is CrRLJ 4.7, the rule that allows your lawyer to get the discovery in your case. The same rule actually prevents them from giving you a copy of the discovery – even though it’s your case! This rule is even more bizarre considering the fact that if you were to fire your lawyer and represent yourself, the State would be REQUIRED to give you a copy of the Discovery. None the less, nothing prevents your lawyer from giving you access to the Discovery whenever you want – as often as you want; they just can’t send you home with a copy.

Pre-Trial Hearings

These hearings take place at Court and in front of a Judge. Their purpose is to make sure that no case “slips through the cracks” by making sure that the case is reviewed in a systematic way. During a pretrial, the Judge wants to know what the status of the case is: Do the parties (Prosecutor or Defense) want to enter a Guilty Plea to something, do they want to set a time for a Motion Hearing, do they want to have a Trial, or do they not know what they want and are simply asking for more time?

These hearings are administrative in nature. That means that they are relatively low stress because nothing will happen at a pretrial unless the Defendant makes it happen. In most cases, the Defendant does not need to say anything other than answering the Judge when the Judge asks if the Defendant consents to what is happening, e.g. asking for a continuance or setting a Motion Hearing. You and your attorney will have discussed what is to take place at the pretrial long before you actually get there.

Most criminal cases have several pretrial dates. There are many reasons why you don’t want to resolve your case during the first pretrial: You may have legal issues that need to be decided by a Judge (during a Motion Hearing), your attorney may need longer to negotiate with the prosecution, or you may simply not have decided which way you want to go on your case.

If you are asking the Judge to continue your case, the issue of Speedy Trial will come up. If you are out of custody, then your case must be resolved within ninety days (sixty if you are in custody). When a Defendant asks for a continuance, the Judge will either not want that extra time to count against the 90 days or will ask for a fresh 90 days -starting on the date of the continuance request- before granting the request for continuance. Although this Speedy Trial rule is an important right – as a practical matter, it very rarely determines the outcome of a case. In other words, if your lawyer thinks it’s a good idea to waive the Speedy Trial rule, by giving the State more time to bring you to trial, then it probably is in your best interest.

Motion Hearings

Motions are written legal arguments on why evidence in your case (sometime the whole case) should be thrown out. There are potentially hundreds of motions that could be filed in a criminal case. Your lawyer will know which ones (if any) apply to your specific facts.

Motions serve two purposes: First, if you can suppress evidence then you may have a better chance of winning if you go to trial. Second, motions are a wonderful way to change the strength of your case thus making it more likely that the prosecution will want to make an offer of settlement that you make actually want to accept.

A motion hearing looks like a bench trial: They take place in Court and in front of a Judge, There may be witnesses, Both Defense and Prosecution will make arguments to the Judge and finally, the Judge will make a legal ruling on the issue. This is where the similarity to a trial ends. The burden of proof at a motion hearing is substantially less that at a trial and the Judge is required to view the evidence in a motion hearing “in the light most favorable to the State.” These two elements combine to make a motion hearing easier for the State to win than the Defense. The reason behind this unfair advantage is actually a good one: The heart of our legal system is the Jury Trial. If you win at a Motion Hearing, then you may bypass the Jury Trial entirely.

Trials

Trials come in two flavors: Bench and Jury. A bench trial is one where the Judge decides everything. A Jury trial is one where six people (twelve in the case of a Felony) decide what the facts are and the Judge decides what the law is.

You can waive (give up) your right to a Jury Trial at any time but if you do so then you generally cannot get it back. If you are ever asked to decide if you want a Bench or Jury trial, you always pick Jury (since you can always change your mind) because if you pick Bench Trial – that’s what you’re stuck with.

At trial, the prosecution is required to prove each of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Your lawyer will discuss with you the elements (what the state has to prove in your case). Your job as a Defendant is to decide whether or not the State can prove each of those elements. Can any of the elements become unprovable if you win at a Motion Hearing?

The outcome of a trial is easy: you either win or you loose. If you win, go home – you’re done. If you loose, then you will typically (though not always) end up with a little more jail time and a little more fines than if you had pled guilty. Is it worth the risk? That’s something for you and your lawyer to decide.

Conclusion

Being able to mentally prepare for the types of court dates you will encounter while fighting a DUI charge may not eliminate the stress you feel, but it will knock it down to a manageable level.

Copyright (c) 2007 The Cahoon Law Office – All rights reserved.

To ask the author additional questions about the DUI Court Process or questions specific to your case, you can reach Attorney Craig Cahoon at 866-529-5383 or email him at cahoonlaw@comcast.net. There is additional information regarding Driving Under the Influence charges and defense strategies at The Cahoon Law Office

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By Jonathan Stone

One frequently asked question is how many drinks does it take to put someone over the legally admissible blood alcohol content (BAC) for driving.  This is a very complicated question as there are many factors that come into play.  These can include your body type, weight, sex, the time period over which you imbibed your drinks, etc.  Of course, the simplest and most obvious answer to this question is to never ever drink and drive and you won’t have a problem.  This article and its author admonishes you to you never drink and drive and always have a designated driver whenever ANY alcohol is being consumed.  You will be safer by doing so, and so will those who share the roads with you.  If you have been arrested for DUI or a similar charge, you need to find the best DUI lawyer you can find to help defend you.

However, to answer the question, we’ll offer some thoughts here.  Remember, this is certainly not an exact science, but there are some rules of thumb that might aid you in determining whether you are likely to be over the limit.

In all states, the legal limit is .08 BAC. In general, a 100 lb. person can ingest ONE serving of alcohol (a 12 oz beer, 1oz of 100 proof liquor, etc) before reaching this legal limit.  Some will be over the limit with just one, and others will go over the limit (and even over the .1 limit of other states) with only two servings of alcohol.

While this may seem pretty steep, remember that most people are not 100 lbs, and the math changes for those who weigh more.  For example, a man weighing approximately 160-165 pounds can generally have about three servings of alcohol before going over the legal BAC level.  Most people at this weight are still under the legal limit and can drive.  The rule of thumb that is easiest to remember if you are an average sized adult is that if you have had three drinks within a short period of time, you are probably still under the limit, but fast approaching it.

But this is still simply a rule of thumb.  Other factors such as medications, general fatigue, health conditions, and amount and kind of food ingested recently can all have significant effects on BAC.  Again, this article is not meant to endorse drinking and driving of any kind, even when under the legally permissible BAC limit.  Having a designated driver is always the safest and best alternative.  If you have been arrested for DUI in Maryland, you can find good information and find a baltimore dui lawyer.

Jonathan Stone is an expert on the practical implications of criminal law. He lives in the Baltimore, Maryland metro area and writes articles for information hubs such as BaltimoreDUIlawyers.org and Virginia DUI Lawyer Virginia Blog..

By Joseph Devine -

Driving while drunk is a serious mistake that can have severe consequences. Each time you get behind the wheel while intoxicated, you put yourself, your passengers, and other road users at risk of being involved in a serious accident. You also risk being stopped by police and arrested for driving while intoxicated. If convicted, your punishment may include suspension of your driver’s license, heavy fines, probation or jail time, and community service.

Alcohol-Related Crash Deaths

Despite the heavy penalties for drunk driving, many people still choose to get in the car while drunk. Each year thousands of people are killed in alcohol related accidents across the country. A report by the organization End Needless Death on Our Roadways found that, in several states, alcohol related road deaths accounted for 40 percent or more of all road deaths each year. The state with the highest alcohol related death rate was Rhode Island, with a whopping 55% of all traffic deaths involving alcohol. Rhode Island’s alcohol-related death rate has remained higher than the national average since 1982. The percentage of traffic deaths involving alcohol in Rhode Island has been calculated between 45% and 67% each year, much higher than the national average of 30%.

It Could Be You

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that on average a person dies in an alcohol-related accident every 30 minutes. Even more alarming is the fact that impaired driving will affect one-third of Americans at some point in their lifetime, either by being a drunk driver, riding with a drunk driver, or being involved in an accident with an impaired driver. In 2002 alone, 17,419 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in the U.S.

If you are drunk, don’t even risk getting the car. In many states, even just sitting in a parked car while drunk can result in an Operating Under the Influence (OUI) charge. Even if you just feel tipsy, wait until you are sober to drive or call a friend or taxi, or take the bus, bike, or walk home if possible. Don’t rely on a drunk friend to take you home, even if they say that they are okay to drive. If they have been drinking right alongside you, chances are they are still drunk too. Getting behind the wheel while drunk is not worth the risk of being arrested for a DUI, and it certainly isn’t worth the risk to your life or someone else’s.

For More Information

If you or someone you know has been arrested for drunk driving, consider contacting a DUI defense lawyer immediately to help you with your case. To learn more about drunk driving charges and preparing for court, please visit the website of experienced Rhode Island DUI defense attorney James Powderly today.

Joseph Devine

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