i was charged with a dui. my bac was .14. this is in the state of PA. this is my first offense and i dont know what i should do to help my situation.
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i was charged with a dui. my bac was .14. this is in the state of PA. this is my first offense and i dont know what i should do to help my situation.
i pulled into a parking lot for a few minutes to make a phone call. after that i exited the parking lot and an officer approached me. the officer said that i did not use a turn signal to exit the parking lot (which i did) and thats why the officer approached me. he also said i swerved while texting on my phone. this is why the officer pulled me over.
Asked on June 4, 2009 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
The best thing that you can do to help your situation is to hire an attorney, preferably one that specializes in DUI cases.
A Pennsylvania DUI arrest will trigger two cases: the court case, with a variety of potential consequences; and the driver's license case where the Pennsylvania Department of Trasportation (PennDot) will seek to take away the driver's license in a separate action.
Your are facing serious penalties here even though this is your first offense. In PA, given your BAC of .14, the potential penalties are:
Ungraded misdemeanor
48 consecutive hours imprisonment
$500 - $5,000 fine
12 month license suspension
Attend Alcohol Highway Safety School
CRN evaluation
Pending CRN, full assessment and compliance with D&A treatment as part of sentencing
An attorney well versed in this area of law is the best way to protect your interests. There are technicalities with which they will be intimately familiar; as a result they can perhaps get the charges dropped or reduced. Remember this is not just a DMV matter, it is a criminal matter as well.
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