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Question: I am 20 years old and recently got a DUI. My license is suspended for one year. Will I be able to go to the bar when I turn 21? Answer: The first thing to consider is whether you are allowed to enter a bar at all based …

One of the relatively unknown aspects of Washington State DUI law is that the penalties for violations of certain mandatory requirements of probation will result in mandatory sentences that the judge must impose. Take the case of an individual for whom this is the first DUI conviction. Either one or two days of jail time [...]

For some people, it makes sense to enter into a deferred prosecution after getting charged with a DUI in Washington. To qualify for a deferred prosecution, chemical addiction or alcoholism must play a significant part in why you broke the law. After acknowledging this, you must commit to a significant program of chemical dependency treatment. [...]

The Washington State Supreme Court issued an opinion on August 20, 2009,  regarding a driver who drove drunk from Washington State into Oregon and was convicted of DUI in both states based upon this single act of driving. (State v. Rivera-Santos, 81445-7.) The driver  was arrested in Oregon after driving south from Washington state over the [...]

The word is out that the punishment for Washington state DUI laws is among the toughest in the nation.  However, what is not well known is that the mandatory minimum confinement penalty for a single violation of DUI probation is harsher than the mandatory minimum penalty for the underlying DUI. For instance, for an individual [...]

Believe it or not, Judges are ordering citizens who are charged with DUI into “probation” before there is even a conviction.  Most people find this puzzling, since probation should come AFTER a conviction, not before.  Traditionally, probation is a period of time after a criminal conviction where a citizen is ordered by a Judge to [...]

DUI convictions require judges to impose mandatory minimum sentences. This is true whether the DUI occurred in Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue, or anywhere else in Washington State. Mandatory minimum sentences for a Washington State drunk driving conviction involve mandatory minimum jail time. The mandatory minimum jail time depends upon the number of “prior offenses” …

Although you won’t find “loss of job” listed in the DUI punishment statutes, a DUI arrest in Washington State can have a devastating impact upon your continued employment. If you need to drive to get to work, or if you must drive in the course of your job, a DUI arrest sets in motion two [...]