The state of Washington has some of the more severe penalties for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) in the country. An experienced DUI attorney should be consulted promptly after an arrest so that your rights can be protected.

Driving Under the Influence is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5000 fine. If you have been convicted of four or more DUIs, vehicular assault or vehicular homicide, then you will be facing felony DUI charges. In all drunk driving cases where a conviction is entered, there are also mandatory minimum sentences, which a judge is required to impose and cannot reduce.

If charged with or convicted of a DUI, DWI, Physical Control or minor DUI, there are several consequences that may result and are listed below:

• Jail time
• Fines
• Restitution
  
• Probation
• WA or out of state driver's license suspension
• Suspension of commercial drivers license (CDL)
• WA SR-22 Insurance
  
• Increased auto insurance premiums or dropped coverage
  
• Mandatory ignition interlock device
• Alcohol or drug treatment

WA DUI Laws

DUI laws are strictly enforced in King and Pierce County, including the areas of Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, and Auburn, WA. The current legal limit or the presumptive level of intoxication is .08 for adults and .02 for a minor DUI. However, you can be charged with a DUI even if you are below these limits or without a breath test result, if the prosecutor can show you were affected by alcohol or drugs. You can also be convicted of a physical control DUI even if you were not driving the vehicle at the time of your arrest. The penalties for a physical control DUI are the same as the DUI consequences. If the breath test result was .15 or above, or if you refused the breath test, there are enhanced DUI penalties. The penalties also increase significantly for subsequent DWI convictions, even if your first DWI for alcohol or drugs was reduced to a lesser offense.

A Leading Pierce County DUI Lawyer

There are important defenses to a drinking and driving arrest and this makes it necessary to have an experienced DUI defense lawyer advocating for you. Cristine Beckwith is a Pierce County DUI attorney who has fought the DWI accusations of several hundred clients in the communities of Tacoma, Puyallup, Federal Way, and Lakewood, WA. Her experience as a local attorney and relentless advocate in King and Pierce County will help you get the best result from the criminal accusation of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.