|
Drunk driving penalties
penalties the court could impose are: (1) 6 months in the county jail: (2) $1,000 fine plus up to an additional 1,950 in penalty assessments; (3) 6 months driver's license suspension; (4) Your car impounded for 30 days.
Second, third and fourth offenses within 7 years are punished by increasingly more harsh penalties.
Reasonable suspicion
The officer must have what is legally termed a "reasonable suspicion," based on something unusual that is actually observed about the way a person is driving. This is a very low standard and it can be satisfied by virtually anything which appears out of the ordinary and that might be a sign of a driver being under the influence. In addition, during holiday seasons, police officers typically set up field sobriety checkpoints where they routinely stop every driver who passes through the checkpoint.
Child endangerment
Most states now have some kind of child endangerment statute. Currently, 27 states have statutes that create special sanctions for cases of driving under the influence while the offender is transporting a child at the time of the offense.
B.A.C.
B.A.C. is an acronym for Blood Alcohol Concentration. The most definitive way to test for B.A.C. is to test blood. The most common testing method is to take samples of breath (most usually in New Jersey with a “Breathalyzer”). The alcohol in the breath is mathematically converted to a blood alcohol reading.
Excessive Drunkenness
A state of drunkenness in which a person is so far deprived of reason and understanding that he or she is incapable of understanding the character and consequences of an act.
Sleep Deprivation
Drowsy driving is greatly under reported because there is no test for it, as there is for intoxication, no clear way to identify it, and many states don't even have a code for it on their vehicle accident reporting forms.
Arraignment
Sometimes referred to as a “first appearance.” This date is typically located on the DWI Summons & Complaint near the “court appearance required” box that should be checked off. The arraignment is a formal procedure where rights are read, charges are read and explained, and a plea (guilty or not guilty) is entered.
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
Horizontal gaze nystagmus is a naturally occurring involuntary jerking of the eyeballs as they gaze side to side. It is theorized that when a person is impaired by alcohol, the nystagmus (the jerking of the eyeballs) is magnified or pronounced.
Drunk
Intoxication as we know it is not required for one to be guilty of drunk driving. Your condition may be enough for you to be found guilty of a drunk driving offense under the current definition of the law.
Administrative License Revocation (ALR)
Simply put, the DMV automatically revokes your license when you are arrested for DUI as part of its duty to regulate drivers’ licenses. (The court may also take your license, and may also fine or jail you.)
|
Did You Know?