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.
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.
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