first dui some questions

[not perfect]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania


I was arrested for a dui about a week ago,first time i've ever been in trouble with the law. i blew a .12 and i complied with everything the officer told me to do. i consulted with a couple of lawyers,but i don't really have anything to fight or have the money so i think i will try to go with a public defender. i have to travel to work and school and realize i will lose my license for whatever the period,i'll just have to live with it. what kinds of things will i face in the coming months? will i receive jail time? etc. how long does this whole process take?

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

Here's a link which should provide you with all the information you need. As this is your first offense, look for minimum penalties. You may or may not qualify for public defender, that depends upon your financial status:

http://www.totaldui.com/pdf/dui_state_law_pennsylvania.pdf

 

[missZ]

hi Not perfect.
Maybe my experience can help. I live in NJ and 4 months ago i got arrested and my BAC was the same then yours:0.12. I went with a public defender. I forgot to mention that i had also, 3 more tickets ( improper U turn, failure to keep right, reckless driving). Well..i was feeling same way that your now..i was scared ( even more since iam foreigner). Privates attorneys want to charge me $2,400 ( that plus the fines) and since i didnt have to much to say on my defense, i asked for a public defendor, but i had to fill out an application, you have to prove that you have no money, you have to be poor. iam international student, ( i am not allowed to work) and they gave me the public defendor without a charge ( usually you pay $200). Well my whole process lasted about 2 months, the lawyer got the trial date postponed twice and finally i got sentenced 2 months ago: 7 months of suspension; 12 hours at the alcoholic resorce center ( 2 days of 6 hours); $658 fines in total (only the DWI ticket) and the worst part: MVC charges a insane fee: $1,000 per year for three years. The other three tickets were dismissed and the fines and points too. That day, they took my licence and gave me a 3 hours driving permission to drive home. Now if i get pull over again iam going to jail. I dont own a car but my boyfriend gave me an extra car he had. I was driving my friends car when this happened though.. so sometimes when theres no choice i drive my boyfriend's but they cant pull me over unless i do a stupidity on the road which i wont do ever again!!
Well, this is the way it works in NJ..its insane!..iam paying $100 ( from the $ 658) every month to the municipality, $83 to the MVC ( i will pay this for the next 3 years) and i still have to go to the alcoholic center to get my licence back in january!!..and all of this only for drinking two glasses of rum and sprite and drive my sober friends home...so unfair!!!!!!!!!

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

If you had only two drinks, and each had only one shot per drink, your BAC would have been under 0.08, if you weigh only 100lbs. That's one of the big problems is that we all count our drinks, but need to consider how much liquor (in your case rum) went into each drink. Using that 100lb weight, you would actually have consumed the equivalent of around 4.5 standard pour drinks to reach your BAC. I did the same with thinking I'd only had three glasses of wine. I didn't consider that they were massive glasses filled to the top.

 

[neverhadadui]

A good attorney makes a lot of difference, even if it is a public defender. Unfortunately, you would have a better chance of catching a break if you were on trial for murdering your pregnant wife. You have No rights if you are pulled over for a DUI. This will last more than a couple of months, you will have penalties from the justice system AND from your states DMV. Your insurance will go way up and if you don't have public transportation you will have to pay to have someone drive you around OR rely on family and friends. Good luck.