Jun
02
Hi, my gorgeous, idiot of a husband got caught being ‘low-range’ DUI and has to go to court in 2 weeks. He is not dispute the charges. I’m just wondering if anyone has had to go to court for a DUI and could explain what happens or offer some advice. Does he need references or a solicitor etc
Are you thinking about selling your home yourself? then
I have.
I assume this is his first (and hopefully only) one.
If you haven’t already, get a lawyer. The lawyer and the prosecuting attorney can work out a ‘plea agreement’ so your husband doesn’t have to go to jail.
The plea agreement will place him on probation for some amount of time (I got 1 year unsupervised). It will say that you have to do certain things within 6 months, including pay fines such as court costs, alcohol countermeasure fees, community service fees, probation fee, etc (it can be a couple thousand dollars when you add it all up).
The agreement will have him do some community service. I had to do 32 hours. It may make him take alcohol abuse classes (20 hours total or so). He may have to watch a video of families of victims talking about their loved one who got killed by a drunk driver (called victim impact panel).
Depending on where you live (and how good your lawyer is), his license will be suspended for a certain amount of time. Mine was suspended for 30 days and 180 days conditional driving privileges (work, school, court related stuff, essentials of life only).
The agreement will probably force him to waive his 4th amendment rights to search and seizure. A police officer can search his car, house, or person without probable cause. He will have to submit to a drug test upon request.
During probation, he will not be allowed to drink, consume, purchase, transport, or otherwise be in possession of alcoholic beverages. He will not be authorized to enter any bar, liquor store, or tavern while on probation.
If any terms of probation are broken, he can go to jail for up to one year.
Where I live, a DUI is a misdemeanor for your first offense. Those stay on a criminal record forever, but most employers don’t look back more than seven years. After he’s done with probation, he can get a dissertation from the county’s courthouse. It basically says that he completed the terms of probation satisfactorily, and should not be discriminated against when it comes to services.
Just, please, make sure he doesn’t do it again. It’s not fun. A second offense is a felony where I live. And I will certainly never get another one after the whole mess I went through the first time.
I’m not saying this will be exactly what happens to your husband, but it’s what happened to me.
If you have any questions about the process feel free to email me.
All he really needs is about 5200 bucks thats all the court wants. It’s pretty cut and dries on dui offences.
sorry, wish I could help, I don’t even drive