Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a serious offense. It carries severe penalties including fines, license suspension, and jail. If you have been arrested for DUI, speak with an experienced attorney who can help you understand your rights.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is the common factor in determining a person’s intoxication. The minimum BAC needed for a DUI conviction in most states is .10 percentum by blood volume.

An officer can obtain a person’s BAC through a Breathalyzer testt. These tests are not failsafe and there is a potential for error. There are also circumstances that can affect the reading or an otherwise properly calibrtated breahtalyzer machine. This includes but is not limited to what you may have recently eaten or drank other than alchol,

A qualified DUI attorney can answer any questions you may have about the breathalyzer test and its results.

A more traditional method of determining intoxication or impairment involves an officer's trained observations of your physical appearance together with the administration of a coordination test. This method is routinely used but may become central to your defense depending upon many factors, such as when the breath test was administered,whether or not you refused the breathalyzer examination, whether the officer videotaped any portion of his or her encounter with you, and other factors besides.

DUI and Plea Bargaining

According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents kill someone every 31 minutes. Over the past decade, approximately 1.4 million drivers have been arrested annually on charges of DUI. Many states are taking stronger measures to prevent alcohol-related accidents. Some prevention strategies states are taking include:

· Lowering permissible levels of BAC
· Maintaining regular sobriety checkpoints
· Enacting zero tolerance laws for drivers under 21 years of age
· Requiring mandatory substance abuse and treatment for DUI offenders
· Harsher penalties for repeat DUI offenders

There is a heightened sensitivity to the dangers inherent in drunk driving. As a result, plea bargaining a DUI or DWI to a lesser offense can sometimes be more difficult than negotiating a lesser plea in a murder or manslaughter case.

While that may seem absurd, it isn't, really.

In murder cases where a defendant may face 20 to life in prison, the prosecution could have a bad case and thus may run the risk of losing the case altogether if the trial evidence is weak or their witnessess are unreliable.

Therefore, a plea bargain to 10 or 15 years may serve the goals of punishment and detterrance while guarenteeing a conviction for the State, a lengthy prison term, and a certain time-period of safety for the community.

With DUI, proof is generally not so much of a problem; if the defendant refused to blow into the breathalyzer, that by law is considered a rebuttable admission of guilt; and most people who drive drunk are considered reckless - they aren't seen to cause intentional death. Rather, injury or death caused by drunk drivers is the result of their reckless conduct, drinking and driving.

Rcklessness is really the blatent disregard of a known risk by the drunk driver. Thus, almost no prosecutor or judge will ever take the risk that a person charged with DUI or DWI wil not be just as reckless before the case is resolved as after.

Finally, there are few serious repercussions for the prosecutor to take a DUI or DWI to trial and lose it.

Your Legal Rights

That said, a DUI or DWI charge does not guarantee that you will be convicted. If you have been charged with DUI or DWI, it is important for you to know your rights. A qualified DUI attorney can explain your options and discuss your options. Please call us to speak with an experienced DUI and DWI attorney FREE of charge.