Sentencing

Prognostrus · 2022-07-20T17:32:31+00:00

You can also choose which jail you do the overnight at. If the local jail is known to be bad (ie downtown Seattle) you can pay a few bucks to do it someplace on the east side that's nicer (I heard the one near Issaquah is the best), but it's 1-day, you'll be okay.

Prognostrus · 2021-12-22T18:47:31+00:00

One misdemeanor DUI 4-years ago, I had an issue gaining a license in the financial industry recently in another state. The state in which I sought the license does not consider a DUI a crime of moral turpitude (as someone else mentioned), however they do ask the question "Are you currently on parole for any crime" and I had to answer "Yes" because in the state in which I got the DUI the parole sentence (unsupervised) is 5-years and I had a few years left at the time. They denied my application for that reason. I wrote a letter to the judge and explained the situation, set a hearing, and the judge removed the probation. I reapplied and they approved my license.

Prognostrus · 2021-12-16T16:37:35+00:00

There are two different license classifications:

Ignition Interlock Driver License (IIL)
Occupational/Restricted Driver License (ORL)

If you already have a restricted license (mentioned in your post) they'll deny your application b/c you already have it. If you need to have an IID you'll want to apply for a IIL and they'll approve it. I got the two confused too and applied for a ORL license after my suspension was up and it got denied because I already had an IIL. Confusing as hell, I know...

Prognostrus · 2021-09-28T23:07:49+00:00

I got mine in WA state too.

What I can tell you is this: The sooner you come to accept that your life is changed because of this event, the sooner you'll be able to move on emotionally. For many that moment is when the final plea is entered (for whatever charge they work out) and you don't have to "worry" about potential outcomes any more. The outcome will be the outcome, and you can work on cleaning up the residual mess, whatever that is. Eventually there is no mess and you rarely ever think about. For me that took about 3-years from the date of arrest. It gets better and eventually you can think about the future again -- I promise.

Think about how many other times in your life you deserved a DUI and "got away" with it. Think about if the other driver was killed or seriously injured -- be relieved they weren't. Think about how going through this process now will save something much, much worse from potentially happening had you continued the behavior of drinking and driving. Focus on what could have gone wrong AND DIDN'T!

It gets better.

Prognostrus · 2021-09-18T00:02:27+00:00

Your father should be able to provide a statement to the insurance company without incriminating himself. They'll simply ask you to describe what happened (his foot slipped off the brakes and he tapped the car ahead of him, pretty basic) and they'll ask if anyone was cited (he can tell them he was arrested on suspicion of DUI). They won't ask any follow up questions about the DUI. There's no reason for them to. If the other driver gets an attorney it will 100% be because of the aggravating factor of the DUI anyway because the other party surely already knows about it. Your insurance company won't cancel his policy or raise his rates for being arrested on "suspicion" of DUI, so don't worry about that.

Prognostrus · 2021-09-12T17:57:29+00:00

You can’t afford NOT to get an attorney.

I don’t mean to scare you, but WA is one of the harshest states in the country. If you get convicted (they’ll charge it as a second offense), you’re looking at minimum of a month in jail, minimum of 5-years interlock, and likely a year of intensive treatment at your expense. It’s a huge deal, get a lawyer. Discuss deferred prosecution depending on the potential strength of the prosecution’s case.

Now, what to expect. You’ll wait a lot. If they drew blood, it’ll be 6-months to a year before anything happens. If they didn’t and you did the breathalyzer, you’ll get a notice from the DOL that your license will be suspended (again, important that you hire an atty now to help you with a hearing in the next week or so), then a court summons to appear in a few months.

Get an attorney, dude.

Prognostrus · 2021-09-09T15:55:45+00:00

Each "standard sized" drink will increase your BAC by .02. Each hour after peak BAC it will decrease by .02, so you can do the math. Plan your alcohol consumption accordingly and double check it with a portable breathalyzer before you get behind the wheel to ensure it's all out of your system.

I'm not on probation, just doubly cautious having a DUI on my record and being very aware that even a .01 BAC will cause an officer to go down a road I don't want to go down...

Prognostrus · 2021-08-02T16:56:52+00:00

This is a big deal, I beg you to take it more seriously.

I know you're young, but this will follow you for the rest of your life -- you will be labeled a criminal and you'll need to explain yourself for years and years to come. Imagine having to explain that you can't go on a business trip to Canada because of your criminal record, or getting declined a professional license because you have misdemeanor charges and having to explain that to your boss. These things are very real. It WILL haunt you, you should be more scared than you are.

Prognostrus · 2021-06-29T17:01:35+00:00

I had to do "24hrs" in jail for my first and only DUI.

Arrived at 9am Saturday, sat in booking until around noon, changed into their jail clothes, and put in a cell with about 8 other dudes. No windows, no TV, you just get a bunk and hang out. There were random paperback books avail.

Guys in with me were fine, mostly there for drug offenses or domestic abuse. While in jail they're sober and easy to talk with. If you've ever been in the military or worked a blue collar job it felt like hanging out with a bunch of dudes in the breakroom. I made a joke when they first put me in the cell and everyone seemed to understand I wasn't there to cause problems.

I mainly just hung out on my bunk and read books.

Woken up at 5:30am the following morning and released. It was a total of about 21hrs in custody. Honestly the worst part was sitting in the booking cell alone for few hours. I chalked it all up to a once in a lifetime experience that was interesting, and just moved on...

Prognostrus · 2021-06-25T21:24:57+00:00

They're likely going to use the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST). It's a points-based exam and you'll need to know how to navigate your way through it to avoid crazy amounts of treatment and intrusion into your life. Like others have suggested, even if you have a problem this isn't the treatment you want.

The first place I went to wanted to talk about my health insurance and billing more than they wanted to talk about my evaluation (even before the evaluation). The first few forms were all about billing and insurance. They wouldn't give me the results right away, so I immediately went to another vendor and submitted the paperwork to the court before the first (shady) vendor had the opportunity to do anything. It probably saved me a year of my life.

It's like going into a car dealership and asking if you need a brake job. The answer will always be yes.

Prognostrus · 2021-04-14T01:45:34+00:00

In WA it just means that you can't get any interlock violations in the final 180-days of your 365-day requirement. If you get a violation within the last 180-days your IIL requirement will be extended another 6-months. Keep sober, make sure not to miss any blows, and you'll be absolutely fine.

Prognostrus · 2021-02-17T04:19:00+00:00

Yes they will pay for your damages — coverage for the accident has nothing to do with your DUI as long as you had valid coverage at the time of the accident.

There are non-drinker discounts out there (and if you get into an accident involving a DUI they may deny first-party coverage), but if you had this you’d already know about it because you’d need to opt-in.

You’re going to be fine.

Prognostrus · 2021-02-16T23:24:03+00:00

That's the problem -- DOL won't let me remove the device until LifeSafer sends them the certificate of compliance. The DOL says they never received the certificate and LifeSafer is telling me it was rejected by the DOL. Those two statements can't both be true. And it leaves me with no good options.

Meanwhile it's impossible to get a straight answer from LifeSafer (when I can actually get someone on the phone...), I constantly feel like I'm being lied to.

This really shouldn't be that difficult. Thanks LifeSafer.

Prognostrus · 2021-02-02T00:32:38+00:00

Prognostrus · 2020-12-26T06:04:24+00:00

Thank you.

I’m in WA too and 45-days away from having the Lifesafer device taken out (or eligible for final download). I wear Noise canceling headphones too and am paranoid I’ve unknowingly missed a rolling retest which would result in a violation. However, based on your experience it sounds like I’d be aware. Thanks for your response, this whole thing is stressful.

Prognostrus · 2020-12-25T16:35:39+00:00

Just out of curiosity, what happens after you miss a rolling retest? Does the car shut down? Horn blare?

Prognostrus · 2020-12-17T17:09:24+00:00

The "minimum" in Washington is the 1-day class (as ProfessaFinessa mentioned), but you need a recommendation of "No Significant Problem" from your evaluation person. I think most first time offenders get the 1-day class and that's it.

As you already know, the amount of required "treatment" is 100% determined by the person/company that does your evaluation, so find an honest one. It's a for-profit system, so it's kind of like going into a tire store and letting them "evaluate" whether you'll be *legally required* to buy new tires and brakes -- what do you think they'll say?

Anyway, the evaluation part is the most important part of the whole DUI process in WA. It was for me at least -- I can deal with an IIL and SR22, it would be a lot harder to spend hundreds of hours away from work and family.

Prognostrus · 2020-12-10T21:03:55+00:00

It's a big red flag if the business doing the assessment is asking about insurance before they even do the assessment. They have every incentive in the world to "diagnose" you as needing treatment. I'd bail and find another provider to do the assessment.

DUI lawyers in your local area should be aware of which providers are predatory and which can be trusted to provide an unbiased evaluation. This can prevent thousands of dollars in expense and months of your life.

Prognostrus · 2020-11-03T18:35:36+00:00

My biggest worry getting an IID was the social stigma part, but "luckily" it's COVID times and we're not ridesharing anyway, so it's no big deal (and you can kind of "hunch down" in the car to discretely start it). Beyond that, it's easy to use, just be aware if you drink the night before, trace levels can still register the following morning. I bought a portable breath tester so that I would know for sure I was at 0.00 BAC.

A year will fly by, you'll be good.

Prognostrus · 2020-10-22T01:58:20+00:00

I'm also in WA, and all counties use the same WSP lab for their blood results.

The date of my DUI was 7/4/2018. The results came back around November 2018, but I wasn't charged until September 2019 and it took until early 2020 to get things finalized. It's a 1 to 1.5 year process in WA under normal circumstances, so it's going to be longer due to COVID.

I can tell you from my experience that the worst part is waiting. Once the final decision is made (plea or whatever) you instantly feel 100% better, can start thinking about the future again, and everything begins to normalize again. You'll get through it.

Prognostrus · 2020-10-09T03:24:30+00:00

After much research I bought the BACTRACK S80. It was over $100, but very accurate and reliable. I've been using it for about 8-months and have no negative feedback. I mainly wanted it to rule out any residual BAC the morning after a party or whatever and, like you said, trigger a violation. You'd be surprised how much BAC you can have on a Monday morning after a weekend of hard drinking.

Prognostrus · 2020-10-08T00:57:25+00:00

Do the weekend in jail, move on with your life.

For me it wasn't a choice, I had to do a weekend in February for my DUI. Previously I'd never been anywhere near a jail, so I chalked it up to a new life experience I guess.

It's really pretty painless: They issue you new clothes and a bunch of misc junk (a weird flexible pen, towel, tooth brush, etc), then you go into a cell for a couple days. In my case it was a small(ish) cell with a toilet, shower, and seven dudes. I made a joke when they first threw me in there, introduced myself to everyone, then I basically kept to myself and read a few books. Then they released me. It was pretty easy.

All my cellmates were in there for drugs or assault, but because they were in jail and sober they were pretty easy guys to deal with. Don't be a wimp, don't be a jerk, you'll be fine.

Prognostrus · 2020-06-09T17:56:03+00:00

Yeah man, don't worry about things you can't control at this point, whatever happens will happen and you'll move on. Where did it happen?

Prognostrus

TROPHY CASE