As of last week, participation by Chelan County in a DUI pilot program has been put on hold because of concerns about whether the program was constitutional. The argument against constitutionality is that the program would have sanctioned a suspected offender before he or she was actually convicted and was only on ‘conditions of release’ pending the outcome of his/her case.
The program, which was adopted by the state Legislature last year, would have required repeat offenders to be put in jail until they saw a judge; repeat offenders could not be bailed out before they attended a court appearance. Upon their release, the program would require repeat offenders to have their blood tested twice a day for alcohol abuse. Pursuant to the program’s terms, if convicted, the repeat offender might have been monitored in the foregoing manner for up to six months. Monitoring would have involved morning and evening testing at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center. From a financial standpoint, the program would have required the hiring of two additional people. It would also have required a location with public access seven days a week.
Chelan County intends to re-evaluate the program after an in-depth legal review. Chelan County has recently received funding for a handheld, random-test device that operates similarly to a cell phone and vehicle interlock devices. The funding allows local judges to administer tighter sanctions so as to increase forced sobriety for those already convicted of DUI.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a DUI, immediately contact a Seattle DUI attorney. A DUI attorney is not going to judge you, and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle DUI attorney 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 attorney 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.
