DUI Blog

Driving while intoxicated is a taken as a serious crime that leads to serious and harsh penalties according to DUI laws. Each state has its own DUI laws that classify a DUI as a misdemeanor or a felony.

What Penalties Are Inflicted for a Misdemeanor?

Different states have various penalties for a DUI misdemeanor. The following penalties are some of the likely penalties to be faced if convicted for a DUI misdemeanor. These penalties may include:

• Imprisonment for a period ranging from few hours to a year
• A restriction on driver’s license or seizure of the license
• Probation
• Payment of about $1,500 as fees and fines
• Attending educational programs on alcohol

No matter how serious the charges are, the best thing to do is to get a good DUI attorney to represent you during the trial. The attorney should be able to answer any question that you may have and help clarify the laws for you.

Implications of a DUI Misdemeanor

If driving under influence results in an accident with another motor vehicle, a property or a pedestrian, the DUI offense may be classified as a felony DUI by the court. The court ignores the blood content level in such type of particular case and drivers get a felony DUI charge even if their blood alcohol content was far over the legal limit.

Severity of a DUI Charge

 A DUI charge is determined by the time frame between two DUI offenses in a row. Some states consider DUI offense as a felony if the duration in-between the first DUI offense and the second is within ten years. Some other states give leniency and only regard the fourth DUI offense within the same length of ten years as a felony.

Differentiating Between DUI Felony and Misdemeanor

Considering whether a DUI is a felony or Misdemeanor depends on how serious the crime is.  A felony is often a more serious offense than a misdemeanor. A judge will analyze the particular case at hand to determine the class of charge and penalty that has been imposed on the offender. The penalty for a felony could be imprisonment for a year or more with heavy fines, while a misdemeanor could be prison time with duration of few hours to a few days and sometimes up to a year.

Defending a DUI Case

An accused for DUI can always argue his case in the court of law. Ability to convince the court that the charge should be a misdemeanor and not a felony is the key to winning the case. This saves the defendant from having to face consequences such as being blacklisted for employment, house issues and other problems associated with a felony charge.

Affects of a DUI Felony Charge

Persons with felony charge are faced with challenges when seeking for employment or housing. A conviction for misdemeanor or felony is recorded in the offenders driving history, which is requested by landlords and employers. If a conviction occurred, the offender will be denied housing and even employment and a felony is more severe than a misdemeanor.

Seeking for a DUI Attorney

A good DUI attorney can help a defendant build a defense against the charges being faced. He has a good knowledge of the laws that are applicable in your state and he can tell you about your rights.

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