first time fourth degree dwi questions
my wife got pulled over for a fourth degree dwi. She is a 49 year old with no prior tickets what so ever. She only blew a .082 She was going to plead guilty because we were told as first timer it would reduce the license suspension from 90 days to 30 days. Is that the case? Should we fight it as it happened in rainy weather and the reason for pulling her over was they officer said she crossed the center line. He made her take the walk in the line test in the shoulder in partial grass in the rain. She was going to just plead guilty but the courthouse can not get her a court date before 12/19? So is there any other way to plead guilty and get it down to a 30 day suspension without waiting three months for a court date or is that the only option? Please advise
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: first time fourth degree dwi questions
Your wife should NOT plead guilty to a DWI in this situation. That license reduction may sound tempting, but a DWI conviction will stay on her driving record for LIFE. She is an excellent candidate to get a reduced conviction of Careless Driving, and there could be a good enough legal issue to get the matter completely wiped off her record when the test result is so close to .08. Depending on which county her offense occurred in, it may be possible to postpone the license revocation pending the outcome of the case. Talk with a seasoned DWI attorney immediately. Many, including myself, offer free consultations 24 hours per day. Even if you still decide to plead guilty to the DWI, please please do so only after consulting with an experienced DWI defense attorney.
Re: first time fourth degree dwi questions
Thank you for the e-mail.
Yes, pleading before a trial can reduce the license revocation to 30 days. However, that does not mean you should roll over and give up any defense.
If you had a Blood Alcohol Content over .08 but under .20, and if you do not have a prior DWI within 10 years of the current offense, you were charged with a fourth degree offense. This is a misdemeanor and carries with it maximum criminal penalties of 90 days in jail and a $1000 fine. Different Judges give different sentences. As a result, understanding your Judge and knowing how to change Judge's can be an important part of the process.
There is also a civil case that results in the revocation of your driver's license. On a first offense, you may be revoked for up to 90 days. This is a separate case even though the challenges are largely the same. In order to challenge you license revocation, you must seek a judicial review by filing a petition within 30 days of the offense.
There are also additional consequences to a conviction including skyrocketing insurance rates, plate impoundments and sometimes vehicle forfeitures.
There are many challenges to a DWI. Officers must follow very specific steps as part of the arrest. If any one step is missing, the case may be dismissed.
� Reasonable Suspicion. The officer must have reasonable suspicion to believe a specific crime has been committed in order to stop a person. If that reasonable suspicion is lacking the stop and the ticket may be invalid;
� Probable Cause to arrest and charge. the officer must make sufficient observations to form a basis for probable cause to believe that you were operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Oftentimes, officers perform field sobriety tests incorrectly making the arrest invalid;
� Procedures at the Station. The officer must follow very specific procedures at the station including reading and recording an Implied Consent Advisory that informs you that you have a right to a lawyer. If any of the steps are omitted, the charges may be dismissed;
� Test Procedures. Testing methods to determine blood alcohol concentrations are imperfect at best. Like any scientific method, any test result has a margin of error. If the machinery is not properly maintained and even if it is properly maintained, the test results may vary from true Blood Alcohol Concentration. A sufficient variation may result in a reduce charge or no charge.
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Re: first time fourth degree dwi questions
CMI, the company that makes the Intoxilyzer, says that it is accuracte within +- .003. So if you have a test that is .082 you may have a defendable case. A lawyer working on your behalf would also have access to a log of all the tests ever done on this intoxilyzer. This allows you to look and see if the machine has any history of inaccurate testing. With a test that low, this may be important.
If she is going to fight this thing, and it seems like she should, there are papers that need to be filed within 30 days of the event. This is regardless of when her court date is. So go find a lawyer right away, do not wait for the December date to approach.
Re: first time fourth degree dwi questions
If you call a good DWI lawyer on the phone, like me, you can learn all the details. For now suffice it to say, she would be foolish to plead guilty to DWI. The best plan would be to serve and file a challenge to the administrative "implied consent" licesne revocation within 30 days of the revocation (usually arrest date), or else it will forever be too late to do so. If she wins that, and get the criminal case down to a non-alcohol related charge, such as Careless Driving, or better, she (and you presuambly) could save thousands and thousands of dollars over the next five short years. Fight it. Get a good DWI lawyer to help you do so.
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