What’s the court process like for someone charged with a DWI?
The court process for someone charged with a DWI begins with your first court date where you’ll tell the judge whether you are hiring a private attorney or public defender to represent you. Your case will then be given a new court date. Once your lawyer gets a copy of all the prosecutor’s evidence against you then you will have to decide how best to attack your charges.
I blew above a 0.08! What are my options?
Just because your blood alcohol level was a 0.08 or higher doesn’t mean you have to plead guilty to DWI. The prosecutor still has to prove all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Not only that, the prosecutor must prove that the police officer had the legal right to pull you over and the legal right to arrest you for DWI. If it can be shown that the officer didn’t have the right to pull you over or enough evidence to arrest you then it won’t matter that you blew a 0.08 or more.
But I admitted to drinking alcohol to the police officer!
The prosecutor still has to prove all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Just the fact that you admitted drinking doesn’t mean you’re guilty. The prosecutor must still prove that the police officer had the legal right to pull you over and arrest you and that you were “appreciably impaired.” It takes a lot more for a prosecutor to prove those things than just your admission of drinking.
But I didn’t do well on the sobriety tests!
The prosecutor still has to prove all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Just the fact that you “failed” the sobriety tests doesn’t mean you’re guilty. The prosecutor must still prove that the police officer had the legal right to pull you over, arrest you, and that you were “appreciably impaired.” It takes a lot more for a prosecutor to prove those things than just your performance on the sobriety tests.
But my car wasn’t even moving when the police found me!
Technically, you can still be convicted of DWI. However, it does make it harder to convict you of DWI. Situations like this make hiring a former DWI prosecutor so valuable. Mr. Roughton has seen all different kinds of DWIs and know exactly what the prosecutor is thinking and what they have to do to convict you.
But I wasn’t even driving on a road at the time the police officer stopped me!
Like the last question, you can still be convicted of DWI. However, it does make it harder to convict you of DWI. Situations like this make hiring a former DWI prosecutor so valuable. Mr. Roughton has seen all different kinds of DWIs and know exactly what the prosecutor is thinking and what they have to do to convict you.
But the police officer stopped me for no reason!
The police officer must have had the legal right to pull you over before you’re convicted of DWI. As your lawyer Mr. Roughton will take a hard look at what justification the police claim they had for pulling you over. Without the legal right to stop you nothing that happens during the traffic stop can be used against you in court.
It is in my best interest just to plead guilty and get it over with?
No. It is in your best interest to make the prosecutor prove his or her case to a judge and jury. DWI convictions carry serious consequences to your driver’s license, car insurance, and can result in up to three years in prison. Before you even consider dealing with all that you should do all you can to fight your case.
I was arrested for DWI at a license checkpoint. Does that matter?
Yes. The police have to follow very strict rules when setting up license checkpoints. If you were stopped by a license checkpoint the prosecutor must show the checkpoint was set up and operated according to those rules before you can be convicted of DWI. As a former prosecutor Mr. Roughton knows exactly what the police must do to make the checkpoint legal.
What if the police drew a blood sample after my DWI arrest?
If the police drew your blood after arresting you for DWI then they’ve sent it to a lab to find out what your blood alcohol level was when you were driving. The good news is that whatever the lab says your blood alcohol was at the time you were driving you still have potential defenses to your DWI charge.
But I was only the passenger in the car, not the driver! Why was I still charged with DWI?
Believe it or not, if the prosecutor can prove that you aided and abetted the driver’s DWI then you too can be guilty of DWI. As a former DWI prosecutor Mr. Roughton knows what has to be proven in court to convict you of this type of DWI and how best to defend against it.
I was under 21 at the time I got charged with DWI. Is this still a DWI?
Just because you were under 21 doesn’t mean you still can’t be convicted of DWI in certain circumstances. As a former DWI prosecutor Mr. Roughton handled these kinds of cases and know how best to defend against them.
I have prior DWI convictions on my driving record. How will this affect my current DWI?
Your prior convictions won’t have much affect on whether you’re guilty of the current DWI. If you end up being convicted of the current DWI then the judge can use your prior convictions and increase your sentence up to three years in prison in certain situations.
What happens if my driver’s license is revoked for my DWI? Is there any way to I can drive legally without having a driver’s license?
Even if your driver’s license was revoked for your DWI it may still be possible for you to drive legally to get to work or do household errands. As a former DWI prosecutor Mr. Roughton handled these kinds of cases and know the situations where a judge will grant someone the right to drive legally despite having a revoked license.
But I was riding a scooter or a moped at the time the police officer pulled me over!
Even if you were driving a scooter or moped you can still be convicted of DWI. It will be up to the prosecutor to prove certain facts about the scooter you were driving. As a former DWI prosecutor Mr. Roughton knows what has to be proven in court to convict you DWI and how best to defend against it.
But I was riding a horse at the time the police officer stopped me!
Good news. Someone riding a horse cannot be convicted of DWI.
The Law Office of Lucien Roughton, Jr., PLLC 