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Recently I represented a client who was charged with DUI in the Seattle area after a detention and arrest by a local police officer. A review of the police report led me to believe that this could be a difficult case. All the “signs” police are trained to look for were in this report: Weaving, speeding, [...]

Whenever you see a DUI arrest documented on one of the police television police shows, there is always a videotape of the driving, the field sobriety tests, and other parts of the processing.  Sometimes, the video also includes the actual breath test.  People expect that DUI arrests will be recorded.Most people are shocked, however,  to [...]

Every holiday season, Washington State police agencies step up DUI patrols as part of an increased DUI awareness and enforcement program. In most cases, a DUI arrest happens after an officer observes some driving error and pulls the vehicle over.  Two recently reported cases are unique in that the police vehicles were struck by vehicles and the [...]

Diego Vargas was invited to speak at the annual seminar “Defending DUIs” that was held on December 11, 2009. The committee selecting speakers asked Diego to lecture on “Winning the Impossible Case” due to the numerous cases he has won that were referred …

When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor DUI and taken to the police station the police will usually ask: “Will you take the breath test?” The answer to this question can greatly influence the complications that will arise from the DUI arrest, including length of license suspension and also the mandatory minimum DUI criminal [...]

This holiday season, the DUI emphasis patrols will be out in King County and throughout Washington State, patrolling in an increased effort to make DUI arrests. Undoubtedly, DUI arrests will occur. In some of those cases, the driver will be arrested and charged with DUI despite making a good faith …

Although there has not yet been a formal announcement, expect to see DUI holiday patrols this year from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.  This time of year, state troopers and other police agencies work in unison to increase their presence for DUI emphasis patrols.  In the past we have seen, for instance, a coordinated DUI enforcement [...]

The possibility of serving time in jail is one of the most frightening things about being arrested for DUI. Many Washington State Patrol troopers routinely book into jail every person they arrest, thus many people already have had a view of what jail can be like. It is an unpleasant experience all around.

For a first [...]

An ignition interlock license is a license that permits one to drive during a period of license suspension resulting from a DUI arrest or conviction so long as the vehicle being driven is equipped with an ignition interlock device and SR22 insurance is in place. See RCW 46.20.385. Prior law required the device …

When it comes to pilots and DUI law, there are a myriad of federal regulations that apply but in some respects, Washington State DUI law pertaining to pilots is tougher than Federal regulations. Although Washington State cannot revoke a pilot’s certificate upon a conviction for “flying DUI, “  a pilot who is convicted …