If you live in the District of Columbia, were on vacation or doing business in the District of Columbia, and were arrested and charged with a DWI (driving while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence) offense, you will need to seek out and hire a District of Columbia lawyer right away.

The first thing you must do is file a challenge to your DUI charge or you will automatically lose your driver’s license without a hearing. You must seek an experienced District of Columbia lawyer to help you through the legal proceedings involved with a DUI charge.

The District of Columbia has several laws in place affecting DUI offenses.

• Administrative License Revocation: if you fail a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) test or refuse to take one, your driver’s license will be immediately forfeited and suspended.
• Zero Tolerance Law: the District of Columbia has this law in place with the intention of preventing anyone under the age of 21 to drive with a positive BAC of any number.
• 0.08 BAC Law: most states have adopted this blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level as their legal limit.
• Intensive Sobriety Checkpoints: the District of Columbia has highly visible sobriety checkpoints to try and insure application of the laws.
• Minimum Legal Drinking Age: the District of Columbia has adopted 21 as the age when youth can legally begin drinking.

The District of Columbia also has some stringent guidelines in place for repeat offenders. These policies include:

• Vehicle Impounding: after conviction
• Ignition Interlock: breath-testing interlocks are mandatory after conviction
• Electronic monitoring and/or house arrest measures
• Intensive supervised probation with treatment programs included

Penalties

If you are convicted of a DWI or DUI offense, some of the possible penalties are:

• Jail time
• Large monetary fine
• Suspension or revocation of your driver’s license
• When, and if, you get your driver’s license back, your insurance rates will greatly increase
• You could additionally be assigned to community service
• You will never be able to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL), if ever desired or needed

The consumption of alcohol can affect people differently. Addressing and understanding the way alcohol is metabolized in a person’s body has been known to be helpful in winning a DUI case.

Your District of Columbia lawyer will review all aspects of your case and search for any errors or omissions which might prove helpful to you. Your experienced District of Columbia lawyer will discuss your case with the judge and prosecutor, pointing out all good points in your present day life, talk about your job and your family, and discuss the need for you to be able to keep your driver’s license.

Your District of Columbia attorney will challenge the validity and results of any and all tests that were taken at the time of your arrest and will go over every minute detail to determine all the potential elements of your situation.

1. You cannot be stopped by an officer in the District of Columbia without just cause and reasonable belief that you were committing a traffic or other law violation. The officer has to be able to prove why you were stopped in the first place.

2. You cannot be stopped for weaving around inside your lane. Weaving inside your lane while driving is not illegal in the District of Columbia.

3. Videos made from the squad car or in the booking room can present a different picture than what the written statements against you shows. Therefore, you have the right to challenge what was said about you by utilizing a copy of the videotapes made by the police at the time.

4. The District of Columbia must provide you with access to a speedy trial. If your trial does not proceed within a certain specified period of time, the charges against you must be dropped.

If you have a DWI or DUI charge in the District of Columbia , find and hire an experienced District of Columbia DUI lawyer today.

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