Legal Question in DUI Law in Washington

First DUI

I don't have ANY prior criminal record, CLEAN driving record, never have been in trouble a day in my life. Always maintained insurance. I am a single mother that works very hard and I take good care of my kids. Drove home the other night from a fun night at Karaoke while the kids were with their dad for the weekend, and got pulled over a block from home. I didn't lie when asked if i had had anything to drink, and I ALWAYS follow the 1 drink per hour ''rule''. The officer asked if I would be willing to do a sobriety test and I agreed, and agreed also to a breathalyzer. I felt fine, but came back with a .085 BAC. BARELY over....but over. I was cuffed and taken to the station, and was out of there within about 20 minutes with the explanation that I will recieve more info by mail (court date, etc) I also have a thyroid condition, actually, NO thyroid at all, due to cancer, which causes my body to metabolize at a slower rate. I thought I was fine, and I am a responsible, mature, law-abiding person that never so much as neglected to use my turn signal! I am a good girl, a grown woman, and can not believe this happened to me! What do you think my chances are of getting this dropped?


Asked on 2/17/09, 11:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeffrey Bassett Jeffrey P. Bassett, Attorney

Re: First DUI

I don't think you stand good chances of the prosecutor simply dropping the matter, absent some problem with why you were pulled over. Your fact pattern doesn't indicate exactly why you were pulled over. But the law holds that, so long as the stop was a valid one, it's a DUI if your BAC was at least .08 within two hours of driving. Depending on the specifics, while you are most likely NOT looking at this simply "going away", you could be looking at a very good plea bargain.

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Answered on 2/18/09, 2:17 pm


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