What can I expect after being charged with a DWI? (Fairfax: attorney, incomes)

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by hiker45

I bet you could afford going to jail for awhile. They will probably give you free food and a warm place to sleep.

Besides, you might even gain some insight and improve your life. Didn't Martin Luther King write some famous letters from a jail in Birmingham?

Of course, the main thing you should do while in jail is to thank God you did not hurt someone when you drove drunk. If that had happened, you would be going to prison for a long, long time.

What's the weather like there up on your high horse?

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by Dianna2

Went to jail for 3 days. I did see other cases since where people who blew very high were able to avoid jail time, but I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Also, from my experience, it seems there's little difference in paying top dollar for a lawyer or only a little bit, as the DUI process has become so routine in Fairfax County.

Don't drink and drive... It's very very stupid.

Thanks for update. I think that things are tougher these days - I just saw something about legislation requiring the breathlyzer in your car after first offenses. This adds to the expense..as it should.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by hiker45

I bet you could afford going to jail for awhile. They will probably give you free food and a warm place to sleep.

LOL! Don't count on the "free food" being food in the ordinary sense, or the "warm place to sleep" being warm. Or an actual place to sleep. The County's approach is that they have these few days to hammer home the lesson that the OP did in fact seem to learn, and they mean to treat you as miserably as they possibly can the entire time in order to underscore it.

Moderator Cut

[saganista]

Originally Posted by slduvall

I just saw something about legislation requiring the breathlyzer in your car after first offenses. This adds to the expense..as it should.

Pandering politicians will never run out of reasons to pile it on when it comes to defenseless populations. DUI as a class is already WAY disproportionately treated, but you can count on some bunch of demagogues to call for even more draconian measures in hopes of nothing more than getting themselves re-elected. They have no other actual rationale or reason for it at all.

[NC211]

Originally Posted by saganista

Pandering politicians will never run out of reasons to pile it on when it comes to defenseless populations. DUI as a class is already WAY disproportionately treated, but you can count on some bunch of demagogues to call for even more draconian measures in hopes of nothing more than getting themselves re-elected. They have no other actual rationale or reason for it at all.

With all do respect, that has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard before in my life. You ever put a child in the ground because an alcoholic got behind the wheel of his car, for the second time, and killed them? Ever seen the destruction something like that does to an innocent family, who was doing nothing more than coming home from the movies together?

Driving is a privledge, not a right. One of the worst things (as proven over and over and over and over and over and over and over and....) is drive a car drunk, period. Why would anyone trust anyone who has proven their inability to understand this VERY BASIC element of having such a privledge? Strap that machine to the car, is what I say, and put a speed limiter on it too! If a person is dumb enough to drive drunk, then they've earned every single symbol society can throw at them to highlight their stupidity, and society shoud have the right to point, snicker, and ridicule.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by PrettyinMyOwnSkin

Wow, some of these responses are ruthless!! Everyone has fallen short, so he who is without sin cast the first stone .

*casts the first stone*

[KenInMA]

Well, hold on a sec. MADD is a very powerful lobby and has a lot of influence with regard to laws on DUIs, and because they are one of the loudest, the laws are disproportionate with other, similarly-dangerous, driving-related infractions.

If I was in charge of the world, I would have a single violation called Distracted Driving. It would include, being impaired by any substance, eating, talking on a cell phone, texting, and really anything else that takes your attention away from the road. Any of these behaviors, if observed, would be punishable by jail and high fines. In other words, every one of these types of violations would cost the transgressor dearly, because to be honest, I don't see much difference between someone who's had 5 beers and someone not paying attention because they're texting. They're in the category of "extremely dangerous," but only one is treated as such.

[Carlingtonian]

This thread is so ancient it has hair growing out of its ears. (Hey, wait--so do I!)

But I have to say: I think there's a huge difference between being just over the limit (which is still irresponsible and illegal) and sloppy, falling-down drunk. Both deserve punishment, but the latter deserves more.

Do both deserve forgiveness? I would say yes, provided the offender has truly changed his/her ways and did not kill anyone. At the same time, if someone posts a thread and says "I got a DUI at double the limit," it's hard not to say "Serves you right." And that isn't putting oneself on a high horse. Because sure, many of us may run afoul of some minor law on occasion--but occasional speeding or putting recyclables in the trash isn't the same thing.

I should post a thread saying "Help! I somehow murdered 8 people with a chainsaw. How can I reduce my sentence?"

[SilverSage]

If your attorney does not specialize in DUI, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. You wouldn't want a corporate lawyer representing you in a divorce case, would you? Well, you don't want any other type of attorney representing you in a DUI case other than one that specializes in DUI law.

All legal areas have specializations, even DUI. The best DUI attorney in the country -- he teaches other attorneys across the country how to defend against DUI charges and he's written more than one book about the subject -- is William Head in Atlanta, Georgia. He's incredibly expensive, but does -- or at least used to -- offer one free consultation.

In Georgia, the government's come down pretty hard on those convicted of DUI. I don't know what the consequences in Georgia are and, in your case, only the consequences imposed by Virginia law matter. You can find just about everything you'd want to know about the consequences of DUI convictions in Virginia, or wherever your location, by searching Google.
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Good luck to you. You're going to face a very expensive, and potentially lengthy, battle.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by NC211

You ever put a child in the ground because an alcoholic got behind the wheel of his car, for the second time, and killed them?

Not sure which time it was or whether the other party involved was an actual alcoholic. Otherwise, yes. Happy now?

Originally Posted by NC211

Ever seen the destruction something like that does to an innocent family, who was doing nothing more than coming home from the movies together?

Actually, it was on the way to McDonald's to pick up some burgers.

Originally Posted by NC211

Driving is a privledge, not a right. One of the worst things (as proven over and over and over and over and over and over and over and....) is drive a car drunk, period. Why would anyone trust anyone who has proven their inability to understand this VERY BASIC element of having such a privledge? Strap that machine to the car, is what I say, and put a speed limiter on it too! If a person is dumb enough to drive drunk, then they've earned every single symbol society can throw at them to highlight their stupidity, and society shoud have the right to point, snicker, and ridicule.

Factual update: NO ONE has proven an ability to understand this VERY BASIC element of having the privilege ...to drive. The day before any victim of a drunken driver died, that driver would very likely have repped your post. You want an outlet for all this phony outrage of yours? Propose that EVERYONE have a breathalyzer in their car from the moment they first get a license. You'd get used to it after a while. Blowing in it every now and then would seem as natural as changing the radio station. And it actually would keep EVERYONE who has had a few off the roads and a lot more of the rest of us safe. Very likely I could have answered "No" to your original question under those conditions as well.