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DUI Advice

Is it possible to get a DUI on a Washington State ferry?

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If you live in Western Washington than chances are you have taken a ferry in your life.  Whether you live on one of the islands and you needed to come to Seattle, or you just want to take a day trip.  The Washington State ferry system is incredibly convenient and can be like a mini vacation.  Which brings me to the question I posed in the title, “Can you get a DUI on a Washington State ferry?”

There are probably two instances when they may come up.  Either an individual drives onto the ferry and they have consumed alcohol or a driver decides to have a few drinks while on the ferry and then gets into their car when it ports.  Can either one of these scenarios result in a DUI arrest?  The answer is absolutely yes it can.

How is that possibly you ask?  The Ferry is on water, doesn’t a DUI have to occur on a roadway.  Yes, typically a DUI does occur on a roadway.  However the Prosecution can get around the two scenarios I provided above fairly easily in order to provide a DUI or DUI related offense.

For example let’s say one of the traffic control workers directing traffic onto the ferry witnesses some poor driving indicative of alcohol impairment.  The traffic controller witnesses this driving as the vehicle is boarding the ferry.  Simply seeing the driver on the road as the vehicle boards the ferry would be enough to prove the driving occurred on a road.

Secondly let’s say a driver gets onto the ferry.  While the ferry is on the water they head up to the top deck and have a couple of drinks.  A ferry worker observes the driver pounding a few too many beers, stumbling around, and gets inside their vehicle.  The ferry worker could contact the State patrol and have the driver contacted as soon as the ferry docks.  Arguably this would be enough evidence for that driver to be arrested for DUI/Physical control simply for sitting in the vehicle and being in physical control if it meaning they had the capability to operate the vehicle.

So what happens if a ferry worker doesn’t see the vehicle board the ferry.  But after the vehicle is on the ferry as the driver is being directed where to park signs of impairment is exhibited (i.e., a collision occurs). Could this person be arrested for a DUI?  After all these observations were made on the water not a an actual roadway.  Unfortunately the Washington State legislature is determined that all State ferry routes are part of the highway system under RCW 47.39.020.  So a Prosecutor could argue under that statute this driving occurred under the highway system and therefore a DUI can occur.

Now these are a just a few examples I could think of off the top of my head for purposes of this blog post.  It doesn’t mean a driver would be convicted of a DUI or there aren’t any legal defenses that could be asserted such a safely off the roadway, etc.  If you find yourself in one of the above scenarios it would be best to contact an experienced DUI attorney for advice.

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About the author:  Matthew Leyba is a Seattle DUI Attorney.  He has been named one of the top 40 under 40 criminal defense lawyers in Washington State by the American Society of Legal Scholars.  Additionally he has been repeatedly named a Rising Star in the area of DUI Defense by the Seattle Met Magazine, an honor less than 2.5% of all lawyers receive.

Blog, DUI Advice, DUI Risk, DUI Tips

What happens if you refuse the breath test following a DUI arrest

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thumb.php_-300x233A few days ago I blogged about what happens if a person arrested for a DUI in Washington State takes the breath test at the police station. To follow up on that. I now answer the question what happens if you refuse to take the breath test following a DUI arrest. In my opinion as a DUI Attorney in Seattle some good will happen, and some bad will happen.  So here you go.

If you get arrested for DUI first and foremost ask to speak with a lawyer immediately. The law is constantly in flux regarding DUI cases here in Washington State.  And this can vary from County to County to Court to Court. For example last fall if you refused the breath test following a DUI arrest in King County there was probably a good chance evidence of that refusal could have been thrown out in Court. A DUI Attorney would have known than and could have advised the driver arrested for DUI of that particular issue.

So what happens if you refuse the breath test. First you face a minimum of a 1 year drivers license suspension or loss of privilege to drive in WA by the Department of Licensing. Just like if you take the breath test and you’re over the legal limit. If you refuse to take the breath test then you face an administrative action from the DOL. Regardless of what your actual alcohol level was.

Secondly you face a minimum of a 2 year drivers license suspension or loss of privilege to drive in WA if you actually get convicted of the DUI or Physical Control criminal case. This particular suspension can vary depending on whether this is a first offense DUI or not.  For example if you have prior DUI offense and you refuse the breath test on the new DUI and you get convicted then you face a 2 year license suspension.

Additionally if you refuse the breath test and end up going to trial to fight the DUI then in some cases the Prosecutor could use that refusal against you. The theory behind this is the driver would not have refused the breath test if they didn’t believe they were going to be above the legal limit. It can be a very effective argument during trial and it makes jurors really think.

Lastly if you decline the breath test then you might face a mandatory blood draw at a hospital.  For example let’s say you refuse the breath test following the DUI arrest. The police officer then contacts a Judge.  Explains why they believe you’re under the influence, and that you declined the breath test. If the Judge grants a search warrant then the police officer can drive you to the nearest hospital and force a need in your arm to draw blood.

Obviously this is not good because on one hand the DUI still has that refusal element to it when it comes to a license suspension, and being used in a criminal trial. But the police now have actual blood test results to use as the scientific evidence.  Nowadays refusing a breath test in King County and in particular Seattle means most likely the police officer is going to get a warrant for the blood test.  So beware.

About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI lawyer in Seattle, WA.  He is rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com, and has been repeatedly named a Rising Star in the area of DUI Defense by the Seattle Met Magazine’s annual Best Lawyers in WA publication.

Blog, DUI Advice, DUI Tips

What happens if you take the breath test following a DUI arrest

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08-300x300One of the most common questions I get asked by anyone and everyone is what happens if I take the breath test if I get arrested for DUI. In fact I was at a great restaurant over the weekend (Brimmer & Heeltap in Ballard) and I started talking with the couple next to me. When they found out I was a Seattle DUI Attorney that was the first question they asked. So it got my thinking why not write a blog post about it. So here you go…

What happens if you take the breath test following a DUI arrest. Well a couple different things can happen:

First if you take the breath test and there is a reasonable amount of alcohol in your system. I would say anything above a 0.03 then you’re getting charged with a DUI. That may actually surprise a lot of you. And in fact I recently wrote a blog post about how you can get possibly arrested and convicted for a DUI with only 1 drink in your system. A 0.03 is about that limit. Now whether you actually get convicted of a DUI with a alcohol level that low is another story. True story: As of writing this post Leyba Defense PLLC has never lost a DUI jury trial where the alcohol level was below a 0.08.

Secondly if you take the breath test and your alcohol level is at or above 0.08 then you’re definitely going to get charged with a DUI. But you’re also going to face a possible administrative action with the Washington Department of Licensing. What this means is if this is a first offense and you have never been arrested for a DUI before and you take the breath test and you blow over the legal limit then you’re facing a 90 day loss of your license or privilege to drive in WA State.

Thirdly if you take the breath test and your alcohol level is at or above 0.15 then you’re facing increased penalties in the criminal case. This would include more jail, more fines, and a longer drivers license suspension. You’re also facing the same administrative action with the Washington State Department of Licensing as if you were below a 0.15 but above a 0.08.

So what to take away from this. If you take a breath test and you’re below the legal limit you most likely will still get charged with a DUI. If you take the breath test and you’re above the legal limit then you most definitely will get charged and you face a separate legal action with the Washington Department of Licensing. Tomorrow I will discuss what happens if you don’t take the breath test at the police station following a DUI arrest.

About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle, WA. He is rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com, and has been repeatedly named a Rising Star in the area of DUI Defense by both the Seattle Met Magazine, and the Super Lawyers Magazine, an honor less than 2.5% of all lawyers receive in their particular area of practice.