Not a day goes by when drivers are not stop and arrested for driving while intoxicated. Law enforcement across the country is cracking down on these offenders as they should. For many of them, they will need to turn to a DWI attorney in Salisbury MD.
As the crackdown continues, the law is also increasing the penalties that are being met out for DUI. This is true for the first offense as well as the laws that apply to multiple offenders.
The legal drinking age in all states is now 21. Almost 70% of the states have passed ALR laws (administrative license revocation) which allow the police officer who makes the arrest to take the license of the driver if he fails or refuses the breath test.
The allowable BAC (Blood alcohol content) was .10, it is now .08 in every state and every state has passed laws which prohibit a juvenile driver from having any amount of alcohol in their system.
Any DWI attorney in Salisbury MD will tell you how the penalties have become more severe, especially if the person is a multiple offender. For repeat offensives, most states now have mandatory jail time, the fines are stiffer, the license is revoked for a longer period of time and getting the license back due to hardship is getting much harder.
The consequences:
Hiring a DWI attorney in Salisbury MD will be to no avail if a repeat offender thinks he can get a reduced sentence by plea bargaining to a lesser offense. The judge is mandated by law to impose certain penalties; there is nothing that he or an attorney can do about it. Even first offenders are finding themselves behind bars for a weekend and losing their licenses for a long time.
In some states there is what is known as “Habitual violator” laws. These laws provide for felony charges and penalties for drivers facing their third offense. The penalties are harsh; loosing the right to vote, own a weapon or ever driving again.
When a person convicted of a DUI applies to get his driver’s license back, in most states the offender has to go to a school where he is subjected to an assessment before his driving rights are reinstated. At one time these schools were not much more than listening to a canned speech and passing a short written test, this is no longer the case.
The offender now must sit a strict interview with a professional who administers an assessment interview. Based on the responses to questions asked during the interview, the counselor either returns the license or refuses to. The questions that are asked have been developed to allow the counselor to determine the extent of the violators drinking problem.
