What can I expect after being charged with a DWI? (DUI, clearance)

[lasershen111]

DWI and DUI are two different charges as well.... so the charges and processes won't be the same.. especially not in different states....

[saganista]

Originally Posted by 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.

Quite so. I was originally a big supporter of MADD. I grew up in the 60's and saw first hand how utterly rampant DUI was back then. It was all "Well, boys will be boys", and "They've just got to get it out of their systems" back then, but that didn't sound so good when spoken over the bodies of dead people. Education and designated-driver programs were a great thing at the start, but MADD ultimately didn't know enough to go away when it wasn't needed anymore. It became more about the incomes of people working at MADD than about what once had been its mission. Even founder Candy Lightner has denounced MADD in the modern and mutated form that makes it little more than a group of latter-day prohibitionists. Today, they simply hate alcohol. Needless to say, I do NOT support them any longer and frankly, neither should anyone else.

Originally Posted by KenInMA

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.

That's a much more rational throught than what most others have posted here. But as you seek to refine your proposal, bear in mind that not all "attention" is derived from the same centers in the brain. By that I mean that some functions compete with the demands of driving and are therefore very dangerous -- cell phones and texting fall into this category -- while others do not compete with the demands of driving and are -- up to a point at least -- relatively harmless. Eating, drinking, smoking, and normal conversation are examples of such things.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

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.

Again, why do we allow people to put themselves in that situation? Isn't there a huge hole in th supposed safety net if we wait until AFTER the fact in order to take protective actions?

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

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.

Even if you carry a pocket breathalyzer with you (does anyone here actually do that, by the way?), it is very difficult to tell what your BAC is, and with the law set as low as it is, you can blow perfectly legal at one point and then over the limit ten minutes later without having had anything to drink in the meantime. The current system is not being run to protect anything but the profits that those involved in the corrections and alleged rehabilitation industries earn. There is nothing more to it than that. Become even innocently involved with this system, and no questions aksed, it will simply chew you up as if you'd fallen into a giant paper shredder.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by saganista

Again, why do we allow people to put themselves in that situation? Isn't there a huge hole in th supposed safety net if we wait until AFTER the fact in order to take protective actions?

This is why my own personal max if I'm driving is one beer, possibly two if I'm going to be somewhere for more than a couple of hours and will be eating. (I stick to beer if I'm out somewhere, as it's the easiest to measure and slowest to drink.) I don't have to worry about being over the limit. If I were determined to drink more than that for some reason, then I would have someone else drive.

Originally Posted by saganista

Even if you carry a pocket breathalyzer with you (does anyone here actually do that, by the way?), it is very difficult to tell what your BAC is, and with the law set as low as it is, you can blow perfectly legal at one point and then over the limit ten minutes later without having had anything to drink in the meantime.

Not being A LEO, I have no idea if there is any truth to this. Any LEOs want to comment? I would think that if brethalyzers were notoriously unreliable, there would be so many lawsuits that LE orgs would quit using them.

Originally Posted by saganista

The current system is not being run to protect anything but the profits that those involved in the corrections and alleged rehabilitation industries earn. There is nothing more to it than that. Become even innocently involved with this system, and no questions aksed, it will simply chew you up as if you'd fallen into a giant paper shredder.

That's a pretty far-fetched theory. "Innocently involved"? If you have one or two beers over a couple of hours and eat something, you're not going be involved at all. I was pulled over once after having one beer (and about 20 chicken wings) in Vermont because I failed to yield at a yield sign on a dark road; the trooper gave me the field test and sent me on my way, as I was obviously sober. And I admitted having the one beer. I don't see a conspiracy here. If anything, I think there are way more people who get away with driving drunk than are being given DUIs.

(The now-repealed DC law stipulating that anyone who admits upon being pulled over that they have consumed one drink or more would be put in a holding cell would support your claim--but I think that was, fortunately, an anomaly. And they got rid of it.)

[Bigfoot424]

"This message has been deleted by Tone509. Reason: off-topic"

You want to explain where half of what's above has anything to do with the OP's OLD post?

[Workin_Hard]

"What can I expect after being charged with a DWI?"

From your explanation, I think you can expect a life of further bad choices followed by failure. But that's just my opinion and low expectations of those who drink and drive. I'm thankful you didn't kill someone. You should be twice as thankful.

[khuntrevor]

MADD spends zero on victims' assistance.

[CAVA1990]

Good luck with getting a security clearance after you're convicted. Around here that can be the worst penalty.

[Pammyd]

Originally Posted by Dianna2

I am in my thirty's and I have NEVER ever been in any trouble until now...
After a horrible and regretful decision to drink and drive, I blew over a .15 BAC in Fairfax County and from what I read, that involves a MANDATORY 5 day jail sentence....
Does anyone have any experience? I have already retained a lawyer, but just wondering if anyone has any first-hand accounts of how things went down, and the eventual results...
My lawyer said they'll try to get a plea bargain, and in their opinion, I won't see jail time, but they can't guarantee anything (not to mention this is what the lawyer told me before I signed a contract and paid the lawyer).
I can't afford to go to jail... Also, realistically when should my lawyer know when the plea offer is?

I believe your jail time or no jail time will end up depending on the judge you get, if you have ever been in trouble before, how high was your BAC, how did you behave when arrested..lots of stuff. If you have never been in trouble as you say then chances are this won't land your butt in jail. Regardless of what happens, you would have had to pay your attorney anyhow to represent you. Its how the system works.
I was married at one time to a flaming alcoholic who got stopped on a regular basis and one time even got into a high speed chase with the cops. He never did any serious jail time and I also paid a ton of money to keep him out..my bad because he could have hurt someone else really bad with is erratic driving. He plowed me and our son into a telephone pole one time driving drunk and refused to let me drive the rest of the way home..yes he left the scene of the accident. He has rolled vehicles over, caught vehicles on fire and more. He is still driving as far as I know only both his son and I stopped living with this alcoholic moron years ago.
Let this all be a lesson to you as I am sure you have repeatedly heard since it happened. Life is too precious to waste taking that risk driving even with one drink and you certainly do not want to waste it in jail. Good luck with this...

[GustavoFring]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Good luck with getting a security clearance after you're convicted. Around here that can be the worst penalty.

Except it's not. At least if you already have one, they typically allow you a buffer zone of 1 DUI as long as you self report. I know people who have obtained them from scratch with worse on their record as well..