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Are You Up To Date on Washington State DUI Laws?

July Jul, 2016 Matthew Leyba Leave a comment

All states have varying drunk driving laws. In Washington State, driving under the influence (DUI) laws are among the most strict and enforced in the nation. A driver can be arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and both offenses carry serious consequences including, loss of license, fines, and jail time.

If convicted of a DUI in Washington, you may receive criminal penalties in court and administrative penalties from the Department of Licensing (DOL). The DUI laws and penalties can vary depending on age, blood alcohol concentration, the number of previous offenses, etc. Continue reading as we break down the Washington State DUI laws and penalties.

BAC Levels in Washington

Most drivers assume you can only be charged with a DUI if your BAC is 0.08% or higher. Although this is somewhat true, the BAC level can actually vary depending on the circumstances. In Washington State, a driver can be charged with a DUI if their BAC is:

0.08%, for anyone 21 years and over
0.04%, for anyone driving a commercial vehicle
0.02%, for anyone younger than 21 years old

The penalties for your DUI charge can also depend on how high your BAC level is at the time of the arrest. Even if your BAC is under the legal limit, you may still be arrested for a DUI-related charge if the arresting law enforcement officer believes your ability to drive was appreciably affected by the alcohol or use of drugs.

If you have been charged with a DUI or related charge, contact a Seattle DUI attorney today.

Washington State DUI Penalties

When arrested for a DUI, you are likely to face penalties from both the court system and the DOL.

Penalties may result from:

The initial DUI arrest
A court conviction
DOL penalties after the DUI court conviction

DUI Penalties after the Initial Arrest

When arrested for a DUI, you will be sent a license suspension notice and the DOL will suspend your license for anywhere between 90 days and 2 years, depending on the condition of the arrest. The license suspension will begin 60 days after your DUI arrest.

After receiving your suspension notice, you will have 20 days to request an administrative hearing. The cost to request a hearing is a non-refundable fee of $375.

A few things may happen at this hearing. If the DOL rules in your favor, you will not face a license suspension from the DOL administratively. Remember, if the criminal charge is not reduced or dismissed, your license still can be suspended. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that, although you may be cleared of a DUI through this administrative hearing, you can still be convicted of a DUI in court.

Court Convictions

If convicted of a DUI in court, the penalties vary depending on a few different factors:

If your BAC was under 0.15%, penalties may include:

Driver license suspension of 90 days
1 day to 364 days in jail
Fines of $940 to $5,000

If your BAC was 0.15% or more OR you refused a blood alcohol test, penalties may include:

Drivers license suspension for 1 year for BAC or 2 years if the blood alcohol test was refused
2 to 364 days in jail
Fines of $1,195.50 to $5,000

If you have had more than one DUI conviction within the last 7 years, you could face increased penalties if you receive a criminal conviction in court.

Washington DOL Penalties After a Court Conviction

If convicted of a DUI, the court will notify the DOL. Depending on the circumstances, the DOL will then suspend your license for as little as 90 days and potentially up to 4 years.

If the DOL has already suspended your driver’s license as a consequence of the DUI arrest, the DOL will credit your suspension for that time.

Ignition Interlock Driver’s License

If your license is suspended but you wish to continue driving, you may apply for an ignition interlock driver’s license (ILL).

In order to apply for an ILL, you will need to:

Fill out and submit a Restricted Driver License Application
Have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle by a certified installer. The installer will send proof of installation to the DOL.
Provide proof of SR22 financial responsibility
Pay $100 application fee
Submit all documents to DOL

All fees and costs associated with the ignition interlock device and license are the driver’s responsibility. This includes installation, maintenance, and leasing fees. It typically takes DOL 3-5 business days to process the application.

Washington Driver’s License Reinstatement

Once your license suspension period is up and you have completed all court requirements, you will be able to apply for license reinstatement. Reinstatement requirements vary depending on the circumstances and severity of the DUI but license reinstatement requirements can include:

Completion of drug and alcohol treatment and/or education program
Application submission through the DOL
Payment of reinstatement fee of $150

Knowing the DUI laws in Washington state can prevent you from getting arrested for a DUI, or help you fight a DUI if you have been arrested for one. Seattle DUI attorney, Matthew Leyba is the highest-rated DUI attorney in Seattle according to Avvo.com. If you have been charged with a DUI in Seattle, contact Leyba Defense today for a free 60-minute no-pressure, and completely confidential case consultation.

DUI News

A breath test can be disclosed in a DUI jury trial opening statement thanks to recent decision

April Apr, 2016 Matthew Leyba Leave a comment

Recently the Washington State Court of Appeals Division One expanded on what can be said in an opening statement involving a DUI breath test and to nobody’s surprise it is a very Prosecutor friendly ruling. Traditionally the opening statement by the Prosecution in a criminal DUI jury trial outlines the facts of their case, who and what their witnesses will testify to, and how they will prove the Defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In my experience the Prosecutors were never allowed to tell the jury what the breath test reading was because it had not been admitted into evidence yet. Prosecutors would always try and argue they should be allowed to disclose it because it was evidence they reasonably believed would be admitted.

A Breath test can now be revealed in an opening statement

In all the years I have practiced criminal defense I can’t think of a time where a Judge allowed a Prosecutor to disclose the specific alcohol reading to the jury in opening statement. Well that is about to change thanks to a recent Court ruling by the Washington State Court of Appeals in City of Puyallup v. Spenser. In that case a Prosecutor mentioned the defendants breath test was a .11/.12 to the jury in a DUI trial. The Defense Attorney objected and argued for a mistrial. However the Court overruled the objection. The defendant was later convicted of a DUI. The defendant appealed to the Superior Court which reversed the conviction, however the Court of Appeals reversed that decision and here we are.

What happens now in DUI cases with a breath test

So what does that mean moving forward? It means Prosecutors can now tell the Jury what a breath test is in their opening statement. Now is it really a big deal if the breath test became admissible anyway. Maybe not, but that is not the point. It is a big deal because what if the breath test is later found to be inadmissible due to some foundational issue or the Prosecutor just screws up. What happens then? Since the Prosecutor was allowed to disclose this number in the opening statement the Jury is going to know there was a breath test, what that number was, and don’t think for a minute that will not creep into their back of their minds during deliberations. Even if a Judge tells them they are not to consider it, you cannot un-ring that bell, you cannot undue what they heard. And that is the problem with this ruling.

As a criminal DUI defense attorney in Seattle I have litigated well over a hundred jury trials. And in most cases the Prosecutors don’t screw up, and they are able to introduce the breath test ticket as evidence. However I have had cases where the Prosecutors did screw up and they were not allowed to introduce the breath test ticket. In those cases the jury never heard of my clients alcohol level because the Prosecutor was not allowed to disclose that in opening statement. The ruling in the Spesner case no longer affords defendants that benefit. And that is a shame.

DUI Advice, DUI News, DUI Risk, DUI Tips

Local cop gets arrested for DUI with BAC less than legal limit

April Apr, 2014 Dev Dev Leave a comment

In case you had any questions about whether there is such a thing as a “legal limit” anymore on DUI cases in Washington State. This should answer that question. A local law enforcement officer was recently arrested for a DUI in Snohomish County, WA. Now this is nothing new, we have seen several police officers get DUI’s in King County here in the past year or so. However the difference between those DUI cases and with this one was this particular officer had a blood alcohol level of 0.05. Yes you read that correctly. 0.05 well below the legal limit of 0.08.

Now I have been saying this for the past year. Because of the high profile vehicular homicide cases that occurred in Seattle last Spring. The drastic change in negotiating policies with DUI cases by the King County Prosecutors Office. The recent proposed legislation to toughen existing DUI laws made by certain states legislators and the Governor. All those things have slowly contributed to this zero tolerance “unwritten rule” that is now happening before our eyes.

The fact that a police officer was arrested for a DUI in Mountlake Terrance with a blood alcohol level significantly less than the legal limit just corroborates what I’m saying. Think about it. If a police officer can get a DUI when they are clearly being responsible and doing what the legislator intended when it created a legal limit and made it lawful to consume alcohol and drive then it can happen to anyone.

I have said it here before and I will say it again. Unfortunately in this day and age you cannot have a drop of alcohol and drive a vehicle. If you get stopped for any reason and the Officer smells an odor of alcohol and you admit to drinking you will get arrested for a DUI. I guarantee that. No matter what anyone else says, I guarantee you will at least get arrested for a DUI. You may not get charged with one if the Prosecutor is doing their job correctly and finds there is not enough evidence to file a charge. But more often than not I have been seeing cases just like that Mountlake Terrance police officer get filed every day.

So please be careful out there and keep what I’m saying in mind. It has become far too common for drivers to get arrested for DUI below the legal limit in King County.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI lawyer in Seattle, WA. He is rated a perfect 10/10 by Avvo.com when it comes to Seattle DUI lawyers. He also has been repeatedly recognized as a Rising Star by the Seattle Met Magazine in the area of DUI Defense, an honor only 2.5% of all Lawyers in WA state receive within their respective field of law.