DRIVER UNDER 21 CONSUMING ALCOHOL OR DRUGS– is often called “baby DUI”.  If you are under the age of 21 and have a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of below 0.02, you can be charged with this type of crime.

Some people ask, “I was under 21, why did I get charged as an adult?”  The answer is that you blew above the adult legal limit of 0.08.

Are there differences between the two?  YES!  A “driver under 21” DUI is just a misdemeanor, meaning punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000.00 fine.  There is no mandatory jail time associated with it and no court conviction license impact.  (There could still be an administrative impact).  Finally, a “under 21” DUI does not count as a prior for purposes of getting another DUI in seven years.  (To see the differences in penalties, go to the “DUI Penalties and Consequences” section.

Remember, if you have a passenger under the age of 16 in the vehicle with you, you could face additional criminal charges, such as Reckless Endangerment.

There are two types of Marijuana DUIs depending on your age.  One for individuals under the age of 21 and one for those over the age of 21.  The law allows adults no more than 5 nanograms of THC in their system before they are presumed impaired.  For a minor (under 21), no amount of THC is allowed.

Even if a blood test reveals a THC level below the presumptive amount of 5 ng, a law enforcement officer could still charge you with a DUI if they believe your driving was impaired, or you had a combination of alcohol and/or drugs and THC in your system.

If you have a passenger under the age of 16 with you at the time, there could be an additional charge of Reckless Endangerment, an increased fine and a requirement for ignition interlock for an addition period of time.

In order for a DUI to be considered a felony (DUIs are misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors otherwise), you must have 3 or more prior qualifying offenses in the last 10 years in this or any other state; or have previously been convicted of:  Vehicular homicide while under the influence; Vehicular assault while under the influence; or a comparable out-of-state conviction.  Depending on whether or not you have prior felony points, you could be looking at up to 60 months in custody.

Felony “points” are determined by a person’s prior criminal history.

Reckless Driving on its own is a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or people.  It has no component of impairment nor does it mention any use of drugs or alcohol.  Someone can be charged with a reckless driving for going 30 mph over the speed limit.

It may be confusing then, why first time DUIs are often reduced to this crime.  The reason is that it is still a gross misdemeanor like a DUI (punishable by up to 364 days jail and $5,000 fine); there is a licensing impact of 30 days; and if you were to get a subsequent DUI in the next 7 years (10 years for a felony level) it would count as a prior offense.  Having a prior offense increases the consequences greatly for second DUI.

(Not to be confused with Negligent Driving in the 2^nd degree which is an infraction).  This is basically driving after consuming alcohol or drugs, but without the level of impairment a DUI have (0.02, 0.08, 5 ng, etc.).  A DUI that is reduced to negligent driving has a big difference in punishment.  First, negligent driving is just a misdemeanor only punishable by no more than 90 days jail and $1,000.00 fine.

Second, there is no mandatory jail time or fine.  Third, there is no suspension of your license for the conviction.  (Remember there still could be one administratively regardless of how your case resolves).

This crime does, however, count as a prior if you were to get another DUI in 7 years (or 10 years for a felony).

A lot of people see that a successful deferred prosecution ends with a dismissal and hear “no jail” and get excited, but they may not fully understand what it is or what it means to “go deferred.”

With a deferred, you are basically telling the court that this crime occurred because of you being addicted to drugs, or being an alcoholic.  There is a mandatory 2-year intensive out-patient treatment program that will be required, AND you must be on probation for 60 months before your case gets dismissed.  You will be required to have an interlock device in your car for a specific period of time and you will need permission to travel outside of the state of Washington for more than 24 hours.  (The interstate compact applies.  Make sure and ask a knowledgeable attorney about this).

This is generally not a recommended resolution for first time offenders, even second offenses may not want to resolve their DUI this way.

That is a great question without a definite answer.  What I can say, is that if this is your first DUI there is not going to be a restriction as a result of your conviction.  A judge may put release conditions on you to say within a certain county or state, but unless you are being convicted of your second DUI or entering a deferred prosecution, the interstate compact monitoring travel does not apply.

Now, the uncertain part is other countries.  A lot of individuals ask about going to Canada.  I can tell you that I have personally called the border patrol and asked them under what circumstances a person can get into Canada, and they will not tell you.  The only way to make sure you can get in is to go through their rehabilitation process.  To do this, you should seek the help of an attorney in Canada.

If you are traveling outside of North America, I suggest trying to contact that country’s boarder/immigration/customs department to see if they will tell you what their guidelines are.

A federal DUI occurs when you are on federal land at the time of being charged with a DUI.  In these cases, you would end up in the federal courthouse.  In Washington, attorneys need to be granted permission to practice in federal district court.  Not all lawyers are qualified and you would want to ask them directly, right away to make sure you are with an attorney who is experienced to handle your case.

Being in a town with a prominent air force base we see our fair share of military people get DUIs.  One of two things will happen.  First, your branch may take jurisdiction over your DUI and handle it internally.  If this happens you STILL have an administrative DOL suspension to deal with.  Second, they could choose to let your DUI case be handled through local city or state court.

The answer is NO.  The Washington State legislature has amended the law which now requires that a DUI or conviction reduced from a DUI stays on your record for life (in Washington State).

Here is why, if someone had a DUI 30 years ago and they just got another one, even though it will be treated as if it were their first offense (within 7 years), the release conditions imposed on that person will include ordering them to have an ignition interlock and/or other testing or monitoring.  An old DUI can impact you no matter how long ago it happened.

Absolutely!  You want an experience attorney who knows what they are doing.  DOL suspension hearings are very technical and certain rules apply.  There are two groups of people in the DOL’s eyes, those who took the breath test and those who refused.  The fact that this is someone’s first offense, that they have no criminal history, or that they are just barely above the limit do not get taken into account.

Because so much is on the line it is wise to have an attorney handle this telephone hearing for you.  If you have hired a private attorney, they may include this as part of their service.  If you are using the services of a public defender, they WILL NOT do your DOL hearing for you.  You can hire an attorney to handle the hearing and since you qualified for a public defender, you may qualify to have the administrative fee of $375 waived as well.

This is a time-sensitive matter!  You have 20 days from the date of arrest to request and administrative hearing.  If you do nothing, your privilege to drive will be suspended.  (Make sure your address is up-to-date by going on-line to dol.wa.gov) You have a right to due process, meaning a hearing to challenge them taking away your right to drive before they can do that.

In order to request a hearing, the form(s) have to be filled out completely and accurately, all documents need to be attached and most importantly, the request has to be post-marked by the 20^th day following your arrest.  You DO count weekends and holidays.  It is a straight 20 days.  If you have a Washington license you can also make this request on-line.

Believe it or not, a lot of strategy goes into dealing with the department of licensing.  You want someone who knows what they are doing.  Just because you do not have an attorney at the time you fill in your request form, it does not mean that you can’t hire one later.  I recommend it!

Additionally, if you meet certain guidelines for income you may be entitled to a waiver of the $375.  Be careful, this is a separate form that ALSO needs to be sent to the DOL.  It will be mailed to a different address and you must include documents and sign it correctly.  More information can be found at dol.wa.gov.

Over the years we have represented all walks of life and people in all types of professions.  We have had pilots to teachers, construction workers to financial planners.  Depending on what you do for your job a DUI may impact you.

For example, a pilot will be impacted by a DUI conviction.  A truck drive will be impacted just by an arrest for DUI.  If you work for fed-ex and drive a van for them you may be impacted.

Nurses, your first DUI will generally not impact you.  Teachers, you are usually not facing any job impact.  Some professions require yearly re-certification.  If you are unsure how your DUI will affect you, speak with a qualified, experienced attorney.

We’ve worked with Physicians, Nurses, Dentists, Financial Planners, and just about every professional that requires a license to practice. If you are a licensed person, then you do have some special considerations. It’s best to sit down sooner than later with a DUI attorney.

The answer is “no”.  It is a simple matter of mathematics.  Spokane’s Public Defenders may be wonderful individuals, but they have huge caseloads and just a limited amount of time.  Spending just a few minutes with them before court is not enough time when dealing with your future.  What a private attorney may cost now is a fraction of what you could lose in future earnings.

Additionally, public defenders will not be able to handle your DUI.  A private attorney may be able to handle both your administrative hearing and your court case at a price that may be more reasonable than you think.  Some attorneys even offer payment plans.  My advice- see if you can afford a skilled private attorney first before relying on the services of the public defender.

Probably not. Most “Miranda Issues” are remedied by not allowing the unadvised statements to come into evidence. Sometimes this will cause a case to be dismissed for a lack of evidence. However, DUI cases are usually based on much more evidence. For example bad driving, and field sobriety testing.

You may be stopped and turned away at the border. If you have a DUI conviction and need to travel to Canada, it’s best to use their process of “Rehabilitation”. Essentially, you’ll need to hire a Canadian lawyer to handle the process for you. Shop around, because some firms may be taking advantage of what you do not know. The good news is that there are steps that you can take.