Tonight i was arrested for DUI like a dumb ass cause i was going 10 over the speed limit and a cop pulled me over. I blew out a .10. However, it was a good hour before they took blood. I am 18 btw. Of course I consented to the blood test. The constable took me home. Any idea how much I can expect to pay in fines ect? Any legal advice? Feel free to flame me please, but know this, I am a changed man. No more drinking, no more anything, I am going to church from now on. I am gonna do well in school this year damnit. It has changed my life for the worse however maybe a blessing in disguise. opinions please. ~PorchDawg
COME ON, I know there are cops on this forum, I need help!
Also, at the station, or processing center as they called it. I passed all of the coordination tests easily.
"Listen Sht for brains, did your mother have any childern that lived." Okay flame over. Son, you done porked the puppy bad. Here is what you are looking at. Legal fees, get yourself a dam good lawyer. Possible prison time. Loss of the right to drive for the next couple of years. Fines are state dependent. Public service. Special Schools. Increased insurance when you get to drive again. The list goes on.
Talk to a lawyer, now!!!
As for your being a change man, well time will tell. But I have heard that story from 50% of the Fck-ups.
Best of Luck.
you will lose your license, fines about $750, up to 40 hours or so of community service, probation, leagal fees, insurance through the roof. My DUI ruined my life as it was. Good luck. I did quit drinking for 1 year and 4 days though.
well depends on what state youre in. In CT my buddy lost his liscence for 90 days, paid a hefty fine. He has to go to alcohol abuse classes, i think that was it.
You’re 18 and a you’re legal to drive, I don’t think you’ll lose your lisence unless you’re still on probation (I don’t know about your state, but in NY you’re on auto-probation for about 6 months after your road test.)
What I'm concerned about is your education. If you have any scholarships or anything like that, you may have jeopardized then. Please, get a lawyer and have him look into State-specific fines, penalties, and so forth; as well as the school thing. Good luck, brother.
Tough lesson bro. Your problems depend on the laws in your state, but it’s likely that blowing a .10 and only going 10 over will NOT get you a felony DUI. However, as someone under 21, you may very well have your driver’s license suspended until your 21st b-day.
Do talk to a lawyer pronto – look in the yellow pages for someone who specializes in DUI defenses. Try this website: http://www.ncdd.com – it’s the website for the national college of DUI defense. It has a link for Members/Referals that will give you contacts in your jurisdiction. Best of luck.
Dont drop the soap.
Thanks for the replies, I live in PA for those who were asking. does that make the situation much better or much worse?!
Can someone please explain to me the lure of alcohol? I’m serious. I’ve never “wanted” a drink in my life. I’ll occasionally have one just to be sociable, but it’s ONE. I just can’t see why people will fuck themselves up over booze.
Well, anyway, PorchPooch, you might want to ask yourself if alcohol is really worth it. You’ve gotten a taste of what can happen - now’s your time to reflect and maybe make some changes. Tony Robbins gets flamed a lot on this board, but he has some good ideas about behavior modification. Basically, if you can connect enough pain to a given behavior, you’ll change it. Sounds like a golden opportunity to me… Good luck.
I assume that in PA the legal requirement is under .10 and not .08. If that is the case, and considering the fact that you passed all of the coordination tests, I would think that a decent DUI lawyer could put enough of a doubt in front of a jury about the accuracy of the test to have you acquitted. He probably could just go to the DA and plead it down to speeding. Go to the website Boston Barrister recommended. You don’t need this type of charge in your record. And stop being an asshole!
Ive heard that the “average” dui can end up costing you almost $15 grand by the time you’re done with the whole thing. Just enough to bite most people in the ass hard, but not quite enough to bury you, ya know?? It’s not like in Canada where the fine is 100,000 dollars, but then again they take it very seriously where here in the U.S. it’s more of a nice revenue generator.
Get a good layer, be willing to pay for it to, do get one that’s willing to let you plead nolo and collect your money. You do not need a lawyer to plead nolo, any nimrod can do that. Get a lawyer who is willing to fight to get you out of it. If the legal limit is .10 in PA then you are in good shape, it is imparitive you find out the result of the blood test for it is likely lower. A decent lawyer should have no problem getting you out if your blood tests are lower than point one. Breath Analyzers are inaccurate at best, they are only a good indicator, but you can overturn an arrest. if that is the only proof. Case in point I have blown into a breathalizers right after I finished a drink and blew a .000. Keep in mind that the system is designed to make you not want to fight., because it’s primarily a money making sceme. Analize the entire event, from the reason you got pulled over to the time you got out, likely the cops fucked up along the way, and you can get out of it by way of loop hole.
For future reference, if you get pulled over and you think you may be over the limit, DO NOT TAKE THE TEST. They initially take away your license, but you have ten days to contest this in mosts states and worse case senario, you get a hardship license to go to and from work wirh. Secondly, this is all over when you go to court because they have no evidence to convict, once you are accuitted you get you license back.
Aside from getting a good lawyer, it's time you do research yourself. Look at the laws and what is required to convict, make a note of everything in the arrest that does not fit with the laws described and present them to your lawyer. Most of them he will dismiss, but you may hit on something that can get you out. Lawyers in this buisness tend to get complacent because the job is so routine, so you will have to do some work yourself. Also, if possible, postpone the court date, several times if you can. This will reduce the chance the arresting officer will be present and thus increase your chances of getting out.
Your goal here is to get out of it, if you are lucky the worse thing that will happen is you lose a couple of grand. Don't worry about beating yourself up until its over. Next time, sleep it off before you drive.
http://golocalnet.com/drivingage/
According to this the BAC for drunk driving when under 21 years of age is .02 in PA.
You ARE guilty. Face it like a man instead of hiring a weasel to get you out of it.
Bullshit. Why try to “get out of it”? “Get out by some loophole”, “for future reference”? What kind of advice is this?
Get serious. Did you commit the crime? If you did – be a man, own up to it, pay the penalty, and don’t do it again unless you think the penalty is fun.
If anyone out there is contemplating taking pat’s advice the next time they get pulled over, don’t. Refusing a breath or blood test is unwise, for a lot of reasons. First of all. the cops have a lot of leeway. They can make the whole thing go smoothly, or they can be a huge pain in the ass. If you are a pain in the ass to them, they will be a bigger one to you. Also remember that you cannot refuse a field sobriety test, as the courts have decided that they are not invasive. So if you refuse a breath test you can bet that the cop is going to put the screws to you on the field test. Stumble once and the camera in his or her car will record it, and the tape will come up in court. So you didn’t slur your words, you weren’t belligerent, etc. You stumbled and the investigating officer smelled alcohol on your breath. Guess how the court sees this?
So let’s say that you refuse a test and you pass the field sobriety test. In some states, even if you hadn’t been drinking, you can still lose your license for a time. Acceptance of a driver’s license qualifies as consent to give bodily fluids to determine BAC. Refusal can mean a mandatory suspension, regardless of how you did on the field test.
“Keep in mind that the system is designed to make you not want to fight., because it's primarily a money making sceme.”
Bullshit pat. If you’ve ever witnessed a traffic investigation where some kid was literally torn to pieces because an irresponsible asshole drove home when he should have called a cab you’d know that. I’ve seen the bodies and the faces of the victim’s families. This is why in most European countries a DUI conviction results in a permanent revocation of one’s driving privileges. America is notoriously easy on drunk drivers. We don’t need a lower limit. We need real punishment.
The idea that someone should weasel out of this situation is repugnant. He screwed up. He should be a man and admit it (which it sounds like he has), and accept the consequences.
Man…talk about a bunch of sharks circling an injured swimmer. The kid fucked up…give him a break. No need to CONTINUE to belittle…this is based on him actually learning his lesson. We have all screwed up at one time or another…remember that. By the way PorchDawg…don’t say you will never drink again. If I had $1 for every time I have heard that in my life…well you know. Saying you will never drink and drive again…that is something to live by.
what a mess for such a little thing. too bad this happened in US. Did I get this right: You are 18, took one beer and then drove. Big fucking deal. Take care, I hope you don´t get punished too bad for nothing!
Andy H - it is NOT ‘a little thing’ Driving while impared is taking the lives of others in your hands.
Dawg - it's good you've decided to use this as a learning experience. Own up to your mistake, I'd say 'be a man' but why is honesty 'manly'?? Anyway, your best course of action is to get a lawyer and hopefully get your fines reduced, the lawyer will be very pricy, but nothing compared to the hike in your insurance costs.
Please note, I did not say hire a lawyer to get you out of what you did. They can sometimes get the fine or points reduced for you, even though you are admitting guilt.