What You Can Expect When You Get A DUI? Part 1 Of 2
By Dan Noll on March 26th, 2015 in
What happens when I get a DUI? We’re often asked, “I got arrested last night for driving under the influence of alcohol. What happens now?” There are a number of things going on whenever a person is arrested for driving under the influence.
First of all, the person is given a court date, and that is a first appearance where they need to appear, most preferably and most advisably with an attorney by their side.
The second thing that happens is they’re arrested, they’re taken to the jail. But let’s assume the person bonds out of jail. It’s the next morning; they eventually get their car out. Most agencies, on the first offense, will tow and impound a vehicle for 12 hours. They call it a 12 hour DUI hold. Assuming the person is out of jail, they have their car back, the question is: what happens when I have this DUI?
The first thing that happens is the officer should have read what is called a warning to motorist. That warning to motorist informs the driver that if they refuse to take an evidentiary breath test or a chemical test or urine sample of some sort, that their license could be suspended for a minimum of 12 months. However, if they do consent to that test, their license would be suspended for a minimum of 6 months. Again, this is on a first offender; it can go up from there afterwards.