The Finance Blogger


Virginia DUI Offenses and Attorney

Virginia DUI Offenses and AttorneyBeing stopped for driving infractions can be a traumatic experience for most people and depending on the situation  can be even dangerous to your health. Virginia police are always careful when stopping people for suspected DUI offenses for obvious reasons. There have been just too many situations were the people they were stopping have been belligerent. Or even worse come out fighting or with weapons.

Virginia DUI Offenses

If you are stopped for any offense, including DUI, remain calm and do exactly as the policeman says. You can usually avoid more dangerous situations. Hands on the wheel were the police can see them, no sudden moves and communicate clearly. Move slowly especially if you need to reach for a wallet in a potentially concealed place. You have to remember that the policeman is concerned that you might come up with a weapon of some sort. Especially when you remove your hand from a concealed location such as the glove compartment. Or when reaching to get your wallet out of the back pocket of your pants. He does not want to see a weapon in your hand.

The best defense against a DUI charge is to not drink and drive in the first place. There are so many options available that really no one should get charged. Have a friend drive you, take a taxi, control your drinking or wait a few hours before getting behind the wheel. If you do get charged after being stopped while driving your car then you will need to take the next steps carefully.

If you are trying to decide if you need a Virginia DUI Attorney, then perhaps the following will help you. DUI (Driving Under the Influence), commonly known as drunk driving, is legally defined as driving a motor vehicle on a road or highway while under the influence of an intoxicating substance. It is a simple law, with a surprisingly large gray area of actual DUI culpability. A Virginia DUI Attorney can assist you through this gray area.

Virginia DUI Offenses – Consequences

The consequences of being charged and convicted can be significant. You could lose your license to drive, be thrown in jail, lose your job  and then there is the embarrassment at work and with family.

The primary determining factors of DUI are whether the defendant was driving, whether what he was driving was a motor vehicle, whether he/she was on the road, and most importantly whether he/she was intoxicated. While some are more easily determined than others, the most vital question appears to be whether the defendant was actually intoxicated. Virginia DUI Attorneys find this issue is at the core of the argument and presents the biggest challenge in dealing with the DUI statute.

Recently, new DUI statutes have been enacted to avoid this complicated intoxication issue and you need to have a Virginia DUI Attorney who is familiar with these changes. These statutes augment the law by not requiring a demonstration that the defendant was under the influence. Instead, the proof rests on a mere reading of a machine to determine the culpability of a suspected DUI driver. These statutes, often referred to as per se, define DUI as driving a motor vehicle on a road or highway with a blood alcohol level of approximately .1. The actual legal blood alcohol level varies from state to state.

DUI Testing

These tests are very important and the longer you can delay taking the test may impact the actual reading. Your lawyer will help you understand the potential charges and the results if you are convicted. Once you know these facts, you can decide if you want to fight the charge. Or just opt to pay the fine and possibly do your time. This is an important decision, since a conviction will stay on your record for life. It will always be looked at should you be charged in the future with a DUI charge.

A friend of ours was charged with DUI and would have been convicted had he not got a lawyer. The fine would have been $1500. He would have had a first conviction which stays on his record for all time. He hired a lawyer to fight the charge. Which was subsequently dropped because it was a first offense. So he got off without any fine or any conviction at all. Now the lawyers charge was also $1500, so in effect he did pay for his being stopped. But there is no conviction on his file and he also did not lose his license.

Losing his license would have also meant that he would have lost his job as well. Which would have been even more significant. His income would have been in jeopardy. His insurance company might increase the rates significantly as well for his car insurance when he does get his license back.

Hire a Virginia DUI Attorney whenever you are charged with an offense such as driving under the influence to avoid losing your license, going to jail and receiving a conviction.

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One Response to “Virginia DUI Offenses and Attorney”

  1. Good post

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