Driving a vehicle while drunk is a crime and if you’re arrested and charged with this offense you will need a DUI attorney in Glen Ellyn. If you are arrested you are in company, over 1.5 million drivers in the US are arrested every year and charged with driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, both charges meaning that you were operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The blood-alcohol content must not exceed .08% by federal mandate although in some states it is lower. The number represents a measure of mass per volume so a BAC of .03 for example indicates that you have 0.03 grams of alcohol in each 100 grams of blood.
There are serious consequences to being found guilty of DUI. A first offense can see the offender in jail for up to 90 days, the loss of your driving license and impounding of the offending vehicle. Fines for a first offense can be $1,000 but can go much higher for multiple offenses.
Regardless of whether you have a DUI attorney in Glen Ellyn or not you will have to go through a court case. Depending on the circumstances the punishment that can be handed out by the court are not imposed ; if it is a first offense and there were no injuries or substantial property damage the result might be 2 or 3 days in jail. In exchange for a minimum jail sentence, the court will put the offender on probation for up to 2 or 3 years. For the first offense the attorney that represents you will fight to have an informal probation meaning you do not have to report to a probation officer. The first offense will also see you having to attend a mandatory offender school. Your driving privileges will probably be taken away for a year but your attorney can ask that restrictions be placed on your driving privileges rather than outright loss if it affects your ability to get to work or get ongoing medical attention.
Fines and jail are punishments that go away, however, once convicted of driving under the influence you will find your insurance premium increases dramatically, even if your current insurance company agrees to cover you. You can find yourself in a situation where you can’t drive as you are uninsured even if you get your driving privileges re-instated by the state. Eventually you will find insurance coverage but your DUI attorney in Glen Ellyn cannot help you with your insurance problems but he can tell you that the consequences of subsequent convictions will be much harder even to the extent of losing your driving privileges for life.
