What To Know if You Got a DUI While Visiting Northern Virginia
If you got a DUI while visiting Northern Virginia, you are facing jail time, steep fines, and other serious penalties. Whether you were visiting from elsewhere in the Commonwealth or from another state, you will need to fight your DUI charge in court to avoid unnecessary consequences. In this scenario, you will also want to work closely with an experienced Woodbridge DUI lawyer who can help protect you by all means available.
5 Key Facts for Individuals Who Are Facing a DUI in Northern Virginia
From the risks you are facing to what prosecutors need to prove in order to secure a conviction, there is a lot you need to know after a DUI arrest. Here are five key facts to know if you are facing a DUI in Northern Virginia after visiting from out of town:
1. All Virginia DUI Charges Carry Steep Penalties
The first thing you need to know is that all DUI charges carry steep penalties under Virginia law. For a standard first-time DUI involving a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of between 0.08 percent and 0.15 percent, the penalties include:
- Up to a $2,500 fine
- Up to a 12-month driver’s license suspension
- Up to 12 months in jail
- Mandatory ignition interlock device installation
- Mandatory completion of the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP)
While the Virginia courts cannot suspend your driver’s license if you are licensed in another state, they can notify your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of your drunk driving conviction. As a result, you can lose your driving privileges regardless of where you live—in addition to facing the other penalties listed above.
If this is not your first DUI, if your BAC was 0.15 percent or above, if you caused an accident or if your case involves any of a variety of other aggravating factors, you could be facing even greater consequences. Once you hire a Woodbridge DUI lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will be able to examine the circumstances of your case to determine what penalties are on the table.
2. You May Have Various Options for Avoiding a DUI Conviction
The next thing you need to know is that, depending on the circumstances of your case, you may have various options for avoiding a DUI conviction. Broadly speaking, the options for seeking to avoid a DUI conviction in Northern Virginia are:
Pre-Trial Diversion
Like many states, Virginia offers pre-trial diversion as an option for eligible offenders. If you are eligible for pre-trial diversion, your lawyer can help you do what is necessary to avoid a DUI conviction without going to trial.
Plea Bargaining
Another option for avoiding a DUI conviction without going to trial is to negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutor’s office. However, unlike pre-trial diversion, negotiating a plea bargain does not allow you to avoid consequences entirely. You will still have a conviction on your record (though not necessarily a DUI conviction), so you will need to make an informed decision about whether this is truly the best option in your case.
Courtroom Defense
In some cases, the best option will be fighting to avoid a conviction in court. There are several potential ways to fight a DUI charge in Northern Virginia, including (but not limited to):
- Challenging the constitutionality of your traffic stop or arrest
- Challenging the reliability of your BAC reading or field sobriety test (FST) results
- Raising questions about the reliability of any other evidence against you
- Showing that the prosecution’s evidence is insufficient to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
- Asserting technical defenses under Virginia’s DUI statute (i.e., you were not “driv[ing] or “operat[ing]” a vehicle at the time of your arrest)
After evaluating your case, your lawyer will be able to help you understand which of these are (and aren’t) viable options under the circumstances at hand. You will then be able to use these insights to make informed decisions about your next steps.
3. It Is Up to You to Protect Your Legal Rights
Regardless of the options available to you, it is up to you to protect your legal rights. The prosecutors assigned to your case will be focused on securing a conviction, and the judge’s job is to apply the law to the facts as they are presented. If you don’t do what it takes to protect your legal rights, you will almost certainly end up facing serious consequences—including consequences that you perhaps could (and should) have avoided.
4. If You Ignore Your DUI, You Will Be Convicted and Face Serious Consequences
If you don’t live anywhere near Northern Virginia, you may be tempted to ignore your DUI. However, this could prove to be a very costly mistake. If you ignore your DUI, you will most likely be convicted in your absence, and the judge will have little choice other than to impose the sentence that prosecutors recommend. Once you have given up the opportunity to defend yourself, you won’t get a second chance—and you will be forced to live with the consequences of your decision for years (and perhaps decades) to come.
5. Hiring an Experienced DUI Lawyer to Fight Your Charge is Well Worth It
With all of this in mind, hiring an experienced DUI lawyer to fight your charge is well worth it. While there are no guarantees, there are many ways an experienced local DUI lawyer will be able to help you. Beyond helping you make informed decisions, your lawyer can represent you in court or in plea deal negotiations, and your lawyer can use his or her experience to help ensure that you do not face unnecessary consequences.
Discuss Your Case with an Experienced Woodbridge DUI Lawyer for Free
If you are facing a DUI in Northern Virginia after visiting from out of town, we encourage you to contact us promptly to discuss your case in confidence. To speak with an experienced Woodbridge DUI lawyer as soon as possible, call 703-897-1777 or tell us how we can reach you online now.