DUI conviction-> Put into solitary confinement normal? (Arlington: credit, attorneys)

[314Pie]

friend was charged w/dui.
a couple of months later, he went to court and was sentenced to 3days jail.

they put him in solitary confinement for all 3 days.
the rest of the prisoners had TVs and could go outside in the yard.

friend has no other criminal record.
he couldn't get an explanation why he was put in solitary confinement.

is this normal for a dui conviction?

[yandex]

Perhaps he was combative or resisted.

Tell him not to drive drunk, and he won't have to worry about that happening again.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Duck-man

Perhaps there was something unique to his situation that made them fear for his safety if he was put in general pop? They might have been doing him a favor, although it might not have appeared that way.

Maybe he was wearing little shorts with "JUICY" across the back.

[boyd888]

What county/jail was this in?

My guess is that with a three day sentence it wasn't worth putting him into general population so they put him in solitary confinement for a couple days. If the jail is crowded there may have not been any beds in the lower risk areas (they aren't putting DUIs with violent criminals) and he wouldn't be there long enough to get commissary or any other "perks" of gen pop anyway. Nothing to do with safety, resisting....just a case of that's where it was easiest to park him for 72 hours.

[Bigfoot424]

If he got 3 days in jail for a first offense DUI I'd like to know what was different about this one. An unusually high BAC, vehicle crash or what?

[Carlingtonian]

Seriously, if I ever had to go to jail, I'd rather be put in solitary than with all the weirdos.

Like just about everyone, I'm very against DUI, but I do think there should be a graduated punishment. Someone who's barely over the limit (by one drink or so) I think merits punishment but less so than someone who is sloshed and/or has had DUIs in the past. I think the third DUI should mean no license for life, and the same for someone who's way over the limit.

But at the same time, I'd rather have someone on the road who's barely over the limit but is so terrified of being pulled over that they're hyper-focused on driving carefully--I had friends in high school who did this--than someone who's texting or reading emails.

With even one drink, reaction time is reduced--but when someone's not even looking at the road, there is no reaction time.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Like just about everyone, I'm very against DUI, but I do think there should be a graduated punishment. Someone who's barely over the limit (by one drink or so) I think merits punishment but less so than someone who is sloshed and/or has had DUIs in the past. I think the third DUI should mean no license for life, and the same for someone who's way over the limit.

Well that is the law...If you blow over .15, you automatically go to jail for 5 days. No jail otherwise.

On a side note -- living near Clarendon, I have seen some obliterated people driving. It is extremely scary. I regret not calling the police on one guy. Hopefully the police pulled him over.

[car54]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

If he got 3 days in jail for a first offense DUI I'd like to know what was different about this one. An unusually high BAC, vehicle crash or what?

I think things have changed. A co-worker's son had a first offense, no accident, high BAC (over .20) DUI and was given ten days. It's a mandatory sentence that the judge can't alter. And because the sentence was mandatory, the kid had to do the entire 10 days...no time off for good behavior. I think she said that they do give one day's credit for the time served on the day of arrest.

I think the main strategy defense attorneys use is to challenge the BAC....if they can get it below .15 you don't do jail time.

[boyd888]

Originally Posted by gomason

Well that is the law...If you blow over .15, you automatically go to jail for 5 days. No jail otherwise.

They can definitely put you in jail if they want to, although it is usually only suspended time for first time low BACs with no aggravating factors. The 5 days is mandatory only if you are convicted of over .15 (it's 10 over .20).

There are thousands of DWIs in northern VA alone each year so it would clog up the system pretty bad if everyone convicted went in. However, Arlington County loves to throw people in jail for a couple days regardless of BAC. OP doesn't state his county, but I'd imagine there are other counties that will park you in jail for a couple days to teach you a lesson.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by car54

I think things have changed. A co-worker's son had a first offense, no accident, high BAC (over .20) DUI and was given ten days. It's a mandatory sentence that the judge can't alter. And because the sentence was mandatory, the kid had to do the entire 10 days...no time off for good behavior. I think she said that they do give one day's credit for the time served on the day of arrest.

I think the main strategy defense attorneys use is to challenge the BAC....if they can get it below .15 you don't do jail time.

I had a friend who got out of the jail time (blew .16) because the cop didn't show up. She was incredibly lucky.

Bigfoot, have you ever seen law enforcement breathalyze a bicyclist? I have definitely biked home short distances once or twice a little tipsy.