Is blowing a .242 pretty high?

[punchkins]

What is the name of your state? Texas

My boyfriends ex, was arrested after she was driving out of her apartment complex and hit 3 parked cars, 2 of them having to be towed, as well as hers. She blew a .242 breathalizer reading and had a passanger in the car as well. Its her first DWI, is the fact that she blew that .242 going to make a difference in what happens in court as far as her punishment? Is .242 unusually high anyway or is that pretty common?

[Kane]

It's pretty bad. I've seen some .31/.32's, but much higher than that, you're dead. As you probably know, the legal limit is .08. She must have had a lot to drink to blow that high.

It will make a difference. This isn't the kind of case you want to take to trial. The fact she took out several other cars hurts her too. ("Not only was she drunk, she was driving like a maniac.") At the very least, they're going to want her to pay for those other cars, in addition to whatever else they want her to do. Is this her first offense?

[Lacy_UnderAlls]

Originally Posted by punchkins

What is the name of your state? Texas

My boyfriends ex, was arrested after she was driving out of her apartment complex and hit 3 parked cars, 2 of them having to be towed, as well as hers. She blew a .242 breathalizer reading and had a passanger in the car as well. Its her first DWI, is the fact that she blew that .242 going to make a difference in what happens in court as far as her punishment? Is .242 unusually high anyway or is that pretty common?

Based on the National Motorists Association data the average DWI arrest involves a BAC of .15% to .17%. She's close to double. You can't really use the BAC to determine absolutly the level of impairment. There are a number of factors involved. But add it up:

"driving out of her apartment complex and hit 3 parked cars, 2 of them having to be towed, as well as hers".

One thing I am sure of...the judge will say that's high and it will be a factor in what happens in court.

[punchkins]

This is her first offense. She has been saying that her lawyer is going to try to get the charge taken down to public intox, or reckless driving. Yeah right, i dont see how any judge is going to buy that bull. They sure seem to take their time on these cases though, how long does it usually take to get a court date on that? Its been over a month ago since that happened. Also, she has just had charges pressed on her for assault, as well as violating a court order not to drink within 12 hours prior to possession of her child. Will the judge also look at those things when she goes to court for her DWI?

[BigMistakeFl]

It actually sounds like she might just get the help she needs for her addiction, likely court ordered (we can only hope). This is only an estimation, but her BAC is the result of probably consuming greater than ten drinks in fairly short order. Her lawyer either knows of some big flaw in the case or he's feeding her a line. No way is this going to get reduced.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by punchkins

This is her first offense. She has been saying that her lawyer is going to try to get the charge taken down to public intox, or reckless driving. Yeah right, i dont see how any judge is going to buy that bull. They sure seem to take their time on these cases though, how long does it usually take to get a court date on that? Its been over a month ago since that happened. Also, she has just had charges pressed on her for assault, as well as violating a court order not to drink within 12 hours prior to possession of her child. Will the judge also look at those things when she goes to court for her DWI?

In my county, it normally takes 2-6 months before the case is "filed," meaning the prosecutors file what's called an information, and the case is assigned to a particular court. It can take anywhere from six months to a year after that before the case is finally resolved.

Ordinarily cases are resolved by plea bargaining, meaning the prosecutor, defense attorney, and defendant come to an agreement about what the punishment should be ahead of time. The prosecutor should know about any criminal cases that are pending, and the defendant's better off if she tries to resolve all of her cases together at the same time.

The judge as the authority to reject the plea bargain, if he thinks it's either too stiff or too lenient, but they rarely do.