Drunken driving is not just an offense but more than that. It can easily wipe out life in a matter of seconds, which will land you behind bars for life if you were behind the wheels of the vehicle. So, if you are ever trying to drive a car when you are completely drunk, then you might want to learn more about the DUI penalties, which are waiting for you to grab. There are several municipal and state courts, where drivers re charged on a daily basis with serious DUI offenses. The penalties are going to vary based on the level of accidents caused and even based on the criminal history record if you have any. Even taking help from DUI defense attorney won’t help much if you are in trouble and there is strong proof against your name like eye witnesses and more.
So, it is always better to avoid driving when you are drunk, just to be out of this mess for long. If you want to know more about the penalties, then be sure to read on.
Requirements of clinical evaluation:
Most of the people might be shocked to know that once you are convicted of DUI, they might have to get through an evaluation period just to determine if they have any kind of alcohol or drug issues in the past or even abuse issues.
It is always the duty of the evaluator to get to this determination. For that, he must be well approved by the department of the Development Disabilities and Behavioral Health.
In case, the clinical evaluation mainly states that you had substances abuse or any kind of drug or alcohol addiction, then you have to complete one substance abuse treatment program. At this point of time, it is mandatory for the DUI attorney to help you get services from an approved clinical evaluator.
Suspension or revocation of the driver’s license:
It is not that shocking for you to know that if you are convicted for DUI practices then you are likely to lose all your driving privileges. Based on whether this is your first, second or even the third conviction, the judges might change the punishment a little bit.
The judge can either suspend the license for a year or move, or even revoke it completely.
The driving time of the person gets revoked based on the offense’s serious level, especially if you are one under repeat offender.
People with previous DUI based convictions against their name might lose driving privileges for around 5 years. When the suspension or revocation period ends, they have to apply for another license and pay applicable fees and then match up with the DDS requirements.
Be sure of the fines:
In some states, the drivers, who are convicted of driving a car under alcohol influence might have to pay fines as part of their criminal offense. Whenever you are planning to meet your DUI defense lawyer to discuss about the fine that you have to pay, the expert will be the one explaining the options that you might have and possible fees which you have to pay.
The primary conviction fees will start at $1000. However if you have committed multiple DUI crimes, then you can pay as high as $10,000, if not more. You are not just likely to pay the fine as part of your punishment, but have to pay this fine before your license get reinstated. If you have committed more DUI crimes, then it becomes difficult for your lawyer to help you in lowering the rates. They can do nothing much during such instances.
Now for the jail time:
Now, serving a jail term is a concern that most people might think of or have to face after dealing with a DUI conviction. It is mainly a common outcome that you have to face and the DUI lawyer will also tell you about that. But, if you have chosen the best DUI lawyer then you can avoid this issue.
The jail sentences for the first time offenders can be around for 1 year but can easily be limited for just 3 days or less if you have a trained lawyer to help you with the case.
The repeat offenders might face jail term which lasts for 30 days or even more than that. However, most of the time, these convicted ones are allowed to serve time in weekends, evenings or just at home by wearing the GPS monitoring devices.
No one wants to pay a fine or stay in jail for long but might have to face it if they are actually found to be the reasons behind DUI cases. Just be sure to avoid falling into such crimes beforehand and you don’t have to worry about any of these penalties at all. Just be sure to know more about the attorneys in case you have to take help .
