Understanding DUI Charges: General Information
If you got arrested for DUI in Washington State, it is better to understand what the laws on driving under the influence mean. Official statistical data demonstrates certain rise of the DUI incidents taking place all over the nation. In light of this fact, it is only natural that the law enforcement authorities tend to do their best in order to prevent the DUI accidents from ever occurring to begin with. Hence, DUI perpetrators must be prepared for some genuinely harsh legal consequences that may have a very negative effect on their day to day living in general.
With that said, if you were pulled over at a DUI checkpoint and the law enforcement officer decided that you are driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, the very first thing that the policeman will do is take your driver’s license from you. He will then hand you a temporary permit that will allow you to drive your vehicle for 30 more days. Once this permit expires, your driver’s license will be revoked or suspended. Of course, you can fight against this decision, but in order to do that you will need to file an official request to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) within 10 days after the accident. Failure to do so will result in revocation or suspension of your driver’s license. More information about DUI charges and how to deal with it can be found on Washington DUI info source.
Losing your license is not the only harsh penalty you will need to face. First of all, do not forget about all the heavy fines – thousands upon thousands of dollars straight from your pocket. You may also be obliged to attend special alcohol or drug awareness classes and you will need to pay for those on your own as well. Furthermore, community service is also a very common punishment, so you can expect to perform hundreds of hours of unpaid labor.
Even if you will get to keep your driver’s license, you may still be obliged to acquire a special SR22 insurance that was specifically designed for high risk drivers and this insurance will cost you three times as much as the usual one. If a person or a group of individuals were injured or even killed during the accident you created while driving under the influence, you could be sentenced to county jail or even state prison for a long time.
If you wish to avoid all the most severe legal consequences of the DUI charges, it is very important for you to get in touch with a qualified as well as genuinely experienced DUI attorney in Sacramento at the earliest opportunity. Only a good lawyer will be able to help you by using his skills and expertise. For instance, perhaps the law enforcement officers had no right to pull you over to begin with – then the case will be dismissed. In the worst case scenario the Sacramento DUI lawyer will do his best to minimize the sentence and will make sure that the criminal records will not affect your life in the future.