What to Expect After an Alabama DUI Arrest
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If you are arrested for a DUI in the state of Alabama, you’ll be living in a whirl wind of legality issues. Criminal, Administrative Driver License, Social, Work, Family, Economic, Insurance, etc., are just a few of the problems you could be facing. The penalties you’ll be facing following a DUI arrest can be broken into two categories: administrative and criminal. Here’s what to expect for both.
Administrative Driver’s License
Whether you are licensed to drive in the state of Alabama or you utilize the public roadways, you have agreed to the implied consent law. This means you have consented to submit to a chemical test of your blood alcohol content if you are legally arrested for DUI. You will face penalties whether you submit to a test and fail or refuse to submit to a test.
Remember that the administrative driver license penalty is metered out separately from the criminal driver’s license suspension or revocation. This is because it is civil in nature, not criminal. The length of a suspension is determined by how many alcohol or drug-related enforcement contacts a person has in the preceding 5 year period. For no prior contact the suspension is 90 days. One prior contact causes a 1 year suspension. Two or three contacts cause 3 year suspension. Four or more cause a 5 year suspension. Contacts are only counted if within the last 5 years.
There is a process by which you can challenge an intended administrative suspension. Speak with an experienced attorney at Polson & Robbins today to understand your rights.
Criminal Court
If you are arrested for DUI, you are facing criminal penalties. Heavy fines, jail time and loss of license are just some of the penalties you could face. There are a number of factors including which police agency arrested you and how many prior DUI convictions are on your record that could effect whether you are sent to municipal court or a district court of the county. Being arrested for DUI in Alabama triggers endless court proceedings and other problems as you may have already guessed by now. That is why it is important to contact the right lawyer to guide you through these murky waters. Your lawyer will have ways to save your case that you never even knew about!
