It appears that based on recent court experiences some folks seem to not understand that being convicted of a DUI will result in some type of confinement regardless of whether the person is a good person or whether he has no prior criminal history. The court does not have discretion; by law, a conviction for a DUI in Washington State results in a person mandatorily doing some amount of ‘confinement’. For example, on a conviction for driving under the influence with a breath test result of .08 results in a minimum of 24 consecutive hours in jail if the person has no ‘prior offenses’ as defined in Revised Code of Washington 46.61.5055.
If that same person has one ‘prior offense’, he is looking at a minimum of 30 days in jail followed by 60 days of electronic home monitoring. And if he is on probation for the first (prior) offense, he is also looking at an additional 30 days of confinement because pursuant to RCW 46.61.5055 it is mandatory punishment. In fact, under Washington law if a person is on probation because of a DUI conviction, the following DUI probation violations mandatorily result in 30 days confinement: 1. Driving without a valid license and insurance; 2. Driving with a BAC .08 or above; and 3. Refusing to take a Breath Test. Although some Judges may allow a person to complete the 30 days of confinement on Electronic Home Monitoring (EHM), they are not required to and in fact some relish the opportunity of putting the offender in jail to ‘teach them a lesson’. Notwithstanding the form or type of punishment, everyone should understand that by law there will be a sanction for one of the three violations noted above; in short, the court is required by law to punish the offender, it is not a discretionary decision.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a DUI, immediately contact a Seattle DUI attorney. A Seattle DUI lawyer is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle DUI lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce those penalties, and can help direct people on how to best deal with their DUI charge. So it should go without saying that someone cited for DUI should hire a qualified Seattle DUI lawyer as soon as possible. Driving Under the Influence charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with DUI in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle DUI lawyer
