DUI in West Virginia

[Mazthoril]

What is the name of your state? West Virginia

I was arrested for DUI in West Virginia, at the police department I submitted to the breathalyzer test and was measured at a .18 BAC.

The reason for my being stopped was the front passenger tire on my car had just gone flat because I ran over a piece of refuse in the road, unfortunately this distracted me immediately and caused me to go through a red light as well. Immediately after this happened a police cruiser appeared behind me and pulled me over.

When stopped I failed the field sobriety test and at that time refused the roadside breathalyzer test (I submitted to the test at the station, which is where I was tested at .18.)

This was, obviously, the result of some very bad decision making on my part and it goes without saying this is going to cause me to significantly change my actions in the future. But for right now I need to get through this situation legally.

I was released after posting $250 bail probably two hours after I was first arrested. I've been pretty much fully aware since the moment I stepped out of the police department that I was going to have to plead guilty to DUI as the police had a probable cause to stop me and I incriminated myself as well as gave them clear evidence I was over the legal limit.

I have spoken to two attorneys. One would only speak to me over the phone and was not very helpful, the second I met with in person at his office and he gave me some good information. Unfortunately even though I think I would do well with an attorney both of them have said that they charge a $1500 flat rate for DUI. This seems to be the standard in the town I live in, as the second attorney was a sole practitioner working out of a small office and the first was an attorney working at one of the biggest/most prestigious firms in town.

I simply don't have $1500 to spend on an attorney. I've looked into the eligibility situation for getting a government-provided attorney and in West Virginia it does not appear I have any real chance of getting that.

The law in West Virginia reads, that for a first offense DUI (this is my first offense, no prior DUIs or any other criminal incidents) the minimum penalty is 24 hours incarceration and a $100 fine. The maximum penalty is 6 months incarceration and a $500 fine.

After speaking with the attorney he said that "your chances of getting 6 months are 1/100, you're not in realistic danger of this. Your chances of getting 3 months are 1/100, you're not in realistic danger of this." He basically said that for me, my worst-case scenario is having to do a few weekends incarceration and pay the $500 fine (obviously this is totally aside from the classes I will be mandated to take, relicense fees and et al.)

Basically he said my best hope was to try to work out a deal to get 24 hours community service in lieu of 24 hours incarceration and get the $100 fine instead of the $500 fine. I really don't want to go to jail for any amount of time, and of course I'd rather pay the $100 than the $500 fine. But do I have the resources to get $1500 to save myself a few weekends of jail-time and $400? Not really.

So my question is basically, what hopes do I have for negotiating minimum penalties with the prosecuting attorney without legal representation? How do I go about meeting with the prosecuting attorney? Should I do this before or after my arraignment?

Also, what do you guys think is the likelihood that if I just plead guilty and wait for the judge to hand out my sentence that he will hit me with days or weeks of jail time and the maximum fine?

By statute, West Virginia doesn't increase penalties for a high BAC like other states, but I'm sure it would factor into the judge's decision.

 

[moburkes]

Your hopes are slim, but the chances of you having to go to jail aren't great, either. However, you made a BUNCH of mistakes that you would not have made, had you been sober. I'm sure you'd love to avoid jail time, but you were seriously drunk and LUCKY that you didn't hurt someone or their property.

 

[Mazthoril]

I'm sure you'd love to avoid jail time, but you were seriously drunk and LUCKY that you didn't hurt someone or their property.

I've been thinking this ever since I was released. I have to seriously reanalyze how I use alcohol and in the contexts I use it. What is ridiculous is I'm someone who won't drive if I've had "4-5 beers" over maybe 5-6 hours, even though it's probably likely I'd be under .08 at such a consumption (I weigh 250 lbs.)

If I go out to a restaurant I never have more than one 12 oz beer and will always make sure it is early in the meal so that at least 45 minutes-hour passes before I have to drive home.

My biggest problem is sometimes I binge drink, and when I binge drink I make terrible decisions, this is the first one that has had legal repercussions for me--but there have been others that have had extremely negative ones (lost friends, damaged property et cetera.)

I know that my situation isn't great, but I'm extremely thankful that there were no serious consequences for other motorists from my actions. Eventually whatever penalties the State gives me, I'll pay off the fines, serve any time I have, get my license back and et cetera. But if I had injured someone the guilt would have stayed with me forever.

 

[SillyPuddy]

You need to find out if your state has a first time offenders program. Most do. The attorneys you talked to should known that and should have told you about it. Don't worry about a weekend in jail. That's cake. You sleep all day and they feed you 3 meals a day. Hell, in the jail I was at we even got let out to watch TV. Whatever you do, don't take a bunch of hours of community service over a short stint in the clink. That's a rip-off.

$250 bail is cheap. Yeah you'll have to do alcohol school and pay for it.

As far as DUI attorneys go, they act as a cartel like the OPEC nations in order to fix prices. This enables them to charge flat rates instead of by the hour. A run-of-mill DUI case takes very little of an attorney's time. So they had to come up with a way to make it profitable for their law firms. All they have to do is look at the paperwork and show up a court. They're in cahoots with the State and the DMV to get you in to the DUI system. And they'll work avery good deal to get you to plead guilty and make sure you get in to the DUI system. The DUI system is big money for your State government, and judges like attorney's who bring in new blood.

At least at this point, you know not to drink and drive anymore.

 

[Mazthoril]

You need to find out if your state has a first time offenders program. Most do. The attorneys you talked to should known that and should have told you about it. Don't worry about a weekend in jail. That's cake. You sleep all day and they feed you 3 meals a day. Hell, in the jail I was at we even got let out to watch TV. Whatever you do, don't take a bunch of hours of community service over a short stint in the clink. That's a rip-off.

One weekend in jail isn't something that would bother me so much. The second attorney I spoke to alluded that I may have to spend "several weekends" in jail as a worst case scenario. This would be pretty bad for me because I've just recently gotten a job which requires me to work weekends. If I have to say, "Yeah, I need to miss the next four weekends to go to jail" I'd worry about losing the job.

 

[moburkes]

Then spend 2 days during the week in jail. The judge is flexible. The jail is open 24/7.

 

[Mazthoril]

Then spend 2 days during the week in jail. The judge is flexible. The jail is open 24/7.

I don't even know what my sentence will be yet, of course.

My primary concern with the jail time is primarily related to the stupid nature of how they do it in this area. A lot of places have jails that are located nearby, but despite me living in a decent sized town (at least for this State) the closest jail is a 100-mile, one-way trip (meaning they will transport me TO but not BACK) my problem is getting a 100 mile ride back is going to be very difficult to come by. The area in which the regional jail is located is literally "the middle of nowhere" there's no buses, no taxis et cetera. Most of my friends do not have cars (we're college students) and my closest family are way too far away to help with this.

I had a friend sophomore year who got arrested for DUI, he couldn't find anyone to bail him out before they had to ship him off to the regional jail (they do this if you can't post bail shortly after arrest.) He eventually found a way to post bail, but they wouldn't provide any transport home. He spent like 30 hours or so in a gas station trying to find a way back (eventually a trucker gave him a lift, he just couldn't find anyone who was able to come get him, like me he doesn't have family in this area and the few friends he has with cars just couldn't make the trip), most people he asked who stopped by to get gas either weren't going that way or didn't want to give him a ride.

So while I could possibly structure the schedule such that I wouldn't lose my job (although it'd be dicey, and losing my job won't help with paying off these fines), having to deal with the nightmare of trying to find a ride back to town once a week would suck.

 

[moburkes]

Hon, while I understand what you're saying. This is what can happen when you get a DUI. There is nothing that you or I can do about it today. I don't know what else to say...

 

[Mazthoril]

Hon, while I understand what you're saying. This is what can happen when you get a DUI. There is nothing that you or I can do about it today. I don't know what else to say...

I'm well aware of all that, I'm just explaining my primary rationale in wanting to shoot for the minimums available to me (community service + reduced fine.) Obviously the opinions/mood/feelings et al of the prosecuting attorney and the magistrate are really the only things at play in determining what ultimately happens. I was just simply explaining my motivations in not wanting the harsher penalties (aside from the fact that pretty much no one wants a higher fine and more jail time versus a lower time and less.)

When I was first arrested (8/19) I was a lot more worried than I am now, I'm someone who likes information especially when it is relevant to situations I am in. That's why I've spoken to two lawyers, my school's legal aid, and have asked for advice on this forum. At this point while I'd obviously like to get the minimums, I mostly just want the legal aspects to wrap up as soon as possible so I can start paying off my penalties, whatever they may be, and working towards getting my license back. Which is why I was wondering what the normal process was. Meaning, is my best bet to just go plead guilty at my arraignment, or should I be trying to arrange a meeting with the PA beforehand?

 

[Mazthoril]

I'm not sure if it is standard to update, but I figured I would do so since I did not see a lot of information posted concerning DUIs in West Virginia.

It ends up I was incorrect in my assumption that I would not be appointed an attorney by the court. I spoke with student legal aid at my school and the attorney there told me I was actually very likely to be granted an attorney. So I filed an affidavit stating my income/assets and expenses and a few days later I got a letter from the circuit court saying I had been appointed an attorney.

I'd say this is definitely better than not having representation (which should go without saying.) I went in for my arraignment (this was in a municipal court) and plead not guilty--I was told this was standard procedure at an arraignment. Right after the arraignment my attorney spoke with the prosecutor.

I basically learned that both of the attorneys I spoke to who wanted to charge me $1500 weren't well informed. They both told me that in West Virginia under no circumstances can you ever get a DUI reduced to reckless driving. That is not the case, this prosecutor said he would be willing to reduce it to reckless driving if I had been a borderline case (.08 to .10), but I wasn't so he wasn't willing to do that. Sucks for me, but I was quite drunk--but I just wanted to let people know that prosecutors in West Virginia are willing to drop your charge to reckless driving situationally.

Anyway, the prosecutor told my attorney that if I plead guilty I would do 24 hours and the minimum fine + court costs, this would work out to me paying $72 to the court (they apply the bail I had already posted to the fine.) The prosecutor said he is willing to have the 24 hours be 24 hours of community service. If I plead no contest then the amount I have to pay is higher (it would be another $250 or so on top of the $250 I've already paid) the only advantage to this is it would allow me to contest my driver's license suspension with the DMV. Since I do not plan to contest my license suspension, I imagine I will ultimately end up pleading guilty (for various reasons it isn't worth it to me to fight the DMV hearing, you have to pay fees just to get a hearing which I believe I will ultimately lose. So my preference is to just let my license suspension go into effect, do the classes and pay the relicense fees and the DMV has already sent me paper work saying if I do that expediently I am eligible to get my license back in 90 days.)

Anyway, right now I'm waiting to hear from my attorney who said before we enter a plea we're going to do discovery and just double check everything to make sure the police did not make any sort of procedural error that could get the charges dismissed. I was made well aware that this is extremely rare and to not expect this, but since it does happen it is worth checking in to. So I'll hear back from my attorney in a few weeks, then ultimately I imagine I'll plead guilty at some point.

 

[GulfBreeze]

bottom line...you shouldn't have been driving if you had been drinking. alittle late for that advice, but now you have to deal with your mistake.

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

This is fairly typical, though I know a few lawyers who would argue that point. If you were in fact drinking and their evidence is strong, you can hope for minimum first offense penalties and it is not likely to expect a reduction.