If you or someone close to you has been arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence (DUI) in the District of Columbia or the surrounding areas, it may be in your best interest to contact a DUI lawyer Washington DC residents who have been in situations similar to yours, can rely on. It does not matter whether this is your first offense or your fifth, DC DWI laws are strict. It can be hard for an accused person to defend their own rights for a variety of reasons. The dedicated team at Cohen & Cohen does not believe that you should have to deal with this difficult time and the challenging legal times ahead, alone. Someone is available to take your call any time of the day or night, any time of the year.
While this distinction varies in different states, in Washington DC, a DWI is more serious offense compared to a DUI. If you have been arrested for either of these offenses, contact a DUI lawyer Washington DC is fortunate to have in its midst. He or she may be able to answer your questions and start building a case in order to protect your rights from being violated.
A person who is suspected of driving drunk may be asked to take a breath test or give a blood or urine sample to authorities for testing. If their BAC or blood alcohol content is 0.08 or more, they are considered to be intoxicated and can be charged with a DWI. BAC is measured through the aforementioned breath, blood, and/or urine tests. A person is considered to be intoxicated if they had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams or more per 210 liters of breath or per 100 milliliters of blood; or 0.10 grams or more per 100 milliliters of urine. Regardless of whether a person’s driving was actually impaired by their consumption of alcohol or not, they are considered intoxicated at this level and can be arrested for a DWI.
Under the same DWI law (DC Code Section 50-2206.01) a person can be charged with a DUI if they are found to be operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of 0.05 to 0.08. While the tests are different for both illegal and legal drugs, a person can also be charged with a DUI if it appears that they have drugs that could impair their abilities in their system.
Prosecution of a DUI charge does not always require evidence of BAC test results and it can be reliant on testimony of the arresting officer’s circumstantial evidence of things such as watery eyes, poor balance or coordination, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and failed field sobriety tests. None of these things are quantifiable for a lay person to determine without a doubt, that someone with any one or more of these symptoms, is intoxicated. An experienced DUI attorney can help contest this evidence and organize to have testimony from experts in their fields, to counter the testimony of a police officer’s subjective judgement.
If you think you may need the help of a DUI lawyer Washington DC community members can recommend, contact Cohen & Cohen for a free case evaluation today.
