Fredericksburg DUI Lawyers
- Carl Muzi:
Have you recently been charged with a DUI? One of the most important decisions you face right now is choosing an experienced, aggressive trial attorney capable of achieving the best possible results for your DUI case.
- Vernon Keeve:
Never go into a courtroom alone! Go in with the support and representation of a qualified and dedicated professional who can offer you guidance and answer your questions every step of the way.
- Robert Deaderick:
- Michael George:
From minor infractions like speeding to major felonies such as murder or drug distribution.
- Kenneth
Mergenthal: There is no other way to say it: Serious traffic violations
are criminal offenses. If you are not worried because ÒitÕs just a
traffic ticket,Ó you should know that serious traffic offenses can lead
to jail time, as well as substantial monetary fines. That isnÕt all you
have to worry about: a conviction of a serious traffic offense will
result in a substantial increase in your motor vehicle insurance
premium. The increased premium will stay with you for a number of
years, and, in some cases, your coverage may be cancelled completely.
It is easy to see how a single mistake, or a lapse in judgment, can
continue to haunt a person for years.
The situation is even worse for drivers convicted of alcohol-related
driving offenses. Virginia imposes harsh punishments on people
convicted of DUI/DWI. In addition to any fines you may be ordered to
pay, or jail time you may be ordered to serve, your driverÕs license
may be suspended for one year, even for a first offense. Not only will
you have to deal with the inconvenience of not having your own
transportation at your disposal, but you will have the added
embarrassment of having to ask family or friends for rides when you
need them. The punishments get even more severe for repeat offenders.
You will be sentenced to prison time for your second or third DUI/DWI
offense.
In addition to the punishments provided by law, many insurance
companies will drop your motor vehicle coverage based on a DUI/DWI.
Those companies that will insure you will only do so at a greatly
increased premium.
It is easy to see how important it is to protect your rights and have a
lawyer that can fight to help you avoid the stigma and punishment that
comes with a traffic or DUI/DWI conviction.
- Timothy Wall:
Non-Resident Violator Compact - Virginia and most other states and
parts of Canada have joined together under the Non-Resident Violator
Compact. A license suspension or serious ticket in any member state
equals a ticket or loss of license in ALL 44 member states. Nonmembers
as of January 1996 are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Michigan,
Montana, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington, and Wisconsin. If your
license is suspended in Virginia, you cannot obtain a license in any of
the member states until your Virginia driving privileges are restored.
If you fail to pay a ticket in Virginia, your driverÕs license in
Virginia will be suspended. It is unlikely that you will be able obtain
or renew your license in your home state until you have resolved the
ticket in Virginia and had your driving privileges restored here. Most
states also exchange information under the National Driver License
Compact for serious violations such as DUIÕs and suspended license due
to unpaid tickets in Virginia. This means that these violations will be
charged against your license in your home state. In some states, even
less serious out-of-state traffic violations are charged against your
license.
- Vernon Keeve: The crime of drunk driving is generally
defined in two ways: (1) having a blood alcohol content above the limit
set by law, or (2) driving under the influence of alcohol. To find a
person guilty under the first definition, a jury (or judge) must be
convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the person's blood alcohol
content (BAC) exceeded a certain amount. In most states the legal limit
is .08 percent. Therefore, if it is proved that the person's BAC at the
time of the incident was .08 percent or greater, he or she can be
convicted of drunk driving, regardless of how much alcohol was actually
consumed. As a practical matter, one drink would almost certainly not
lead to a BAC of .08 percent or greater; generally, a person needs to
have five drinks in an hour to develop a BAC of .08 percent. However,
if there was something unique about the person or the drink, or other
circumstance, one drink could raise the BAC above the legal limit.
In contrast, the second definition does not refer to any particular
BAC. It focuses on the driving behavior of the person; if it is
impaired by the person's consumption of alcohol, he or she can be found
guilty of drunk driving. Instead of presenting evidence of the BAC to a
jury, the prosecution seeking a conviction under this definition
generally presents testimony about the person's driving and consumption
of alcohol. A police officer will often describe the impaired driving
that lead him to pull the person over and the person's ability (or lack
thereof) to perform field sobriety tests, such as walking a straight
line. Evidence is also usually presented concerning the person's
consumption of alcohol and if the jury then concludes that the
prosecution has met its burden of proof, it will convict the person of
drunk driving. A susceptible person may exhibit impaired driving after
one drink and therefore be convicted of drunk driving.
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