dui attorney

Driving while under the influence of mind-altering substances is a crime that leads to over 10,000 deaths annually in the United States. This has led to more arrests, greater scrutiny, and charging of people capable of driving and, often, not even remotely under the influence. When you’re unjustly charged with a DUI/DWI, you can face severe penalties that can drastically affect your life, sometimes permanently, but Scranton DUI/DWI attorneys can help.

What Substances Can Lead to a DUI/DWI Charge?

DUI stands for driving under the influence, and DWI stands for driving while intoxicated. They are essentially the same charge: driving while mind-altering substances are affecting your cognitive senses, including but not limited to thought, touch, sound, smell, and sight.

The most common substance that leads to DUI/DWI charges is alcohol. It is the only substance that’s legal in all 50 states for recreational consumption, but this is not the only substance that leads to DUIs. Other substances include:

Innocence

Marijuana

arrignment

Heroin

Drug Crime attorney

Cocaine

Innocence

LSD

Entrapment

Mushrooms

Self

Methamphetamine

Drug Crime attorney

Prescription drugs (e.g., painkillers)

How Will Law Enforcement Test Your Sobriety?

Law enforcement has many different ways to test sobriety. Some are standardized tests that they are trained to use to determine if someone isn’t sober. There are also common, non-standardized tests that many members of law enforcement will utilize if standardized tests fail and the person still seems intoxicated.

Drunk and driving test
  • The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test:
    This test requires someone to follow an object with their eyes without moving their head. Law enforcement tries to determine intoxication based on eye movement.
  • The Walk and Turn Test:
    This test has the person in question attempt to walk in straight lines and perform physical tasks without impairment.
  • The One-Leg Stand Test:
    By having you balance on one leg, law enforcement can see if your balance has been affected by drugs or alcohol.
sobriety tests
  • The Finger-to-Nose Test:
    This includes standing with your head back, your eyes closed, and touching the nose tip with the index finger.
  • The Alphabet Test:
    You need to recite the alphabet backward, but sometimes they’ll ask you to say it forward.
  • The Finger Count Test:
    Law enforcement has you count while touching each finger on one hand and then the other.Considering the difficulty of these tests, there are many cases where completely sober people fail them. Those results are then used to justify a DUI/DWI charge. If you have been charged after failing a sobriety test, our Scranton DUI/DWI attorneys can help.

What Are the Penalties for a DUI/DWI Charge?

Pennsylvania has a tiered system for DUI/DWI penalties. First, it judges you based on how impaired you are, with three tiers: General Impairment (.08 to .099% BAC), High BAC (.10 to .159% BAC), and Highest BAC (.16% and higher). BAC stands for Blood Alcohol Content, which is the percentage of alcohol in your blood.

After judging you based on your alcohol content, you’re judged based on how many previous DUI offenses you have. If someone was injured, you can be charged with another crime, such as assault, endangerment, or manslaughter depending on the injury.

Mpairment Penalties
General Impairment Penalties

If you have no prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • An ungraded misdemeanor
  • Up to 6 months probation
  • A $300 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse

If you have 1 prior DUI/DWI offense before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • An ungraded misdemeanor
  • A 12-month license suspension
  • 5 days to 6 months in jail
  • A $300 to $2,500 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year

If you have 2 or more prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • A 2nd-degree misdemeanor
  • A 12-month license suspension
  • 10 days to 2 years in prison
  • A $500 to $5,000 fine
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year
BAC Penalties
High BAC Penalties

If you have no prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • An ungraded misdemeanor
  • A 12-month license suspension
  • 48 hours to 6 months in prison
  • A $500 to $5,000 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse

If you have 1 prior DUI/DWI offense before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • An ungraded misdemeanor
  • A 12-month suspension
  • 30 days to 6 months in prison
  • A $750 to $5,000 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year

If you have 2 DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • A 1st-degree misdemeanor
  • An 18-month license suspension
  • 90 days to 5 years in prison
  • A $1,500 to $10,000 fine
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year

If you have 3 or more prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • 1st-degree misdemeanor
  • An 18-month license suspension
  • 1 to 5 years in prison
  • A $1,500 to $10,000 fine
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year
Highest BAC Penalties
Highest BAC Penalties

If you have no prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • An ungraded misdemeanor
  • A 12-month license suspension
  • 72 hours to 6 months in prison
  • A $1,000 to $5,000 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse

If you have 1 prior DUI/DWI offense before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • A 1st-degree misdemeanor
  • An 18-month license suspension
  • 90 days to 5 years in prison
  • A $1,500 to $10,000 fine
  • Alcohol highway safety school
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year

If you have 2 or more prior DUI/DWI offenses before the current charge, you potentially face:

  • A 1st-degree misdemeanor
  • An 18-month license suspension
  • 1 to 5 years in prison
  • A $2,500 to $10,000 fine
  • Treatment for substance abuse
  • An ignition interlock device (IID) for one year
sobriety tests

Are Field Sobriety Tests Proof of a DUI/DWI?

It’s important to know that while law enforcement will use sobriety tests to prove that you are under the influence, these are inadmissible in Pennsylvania courts. This is mostly due to how many sobriety tests cannot be trusted, with many false positive and negative results.

The problem with many of the tests is that their results can be conflated with several other factors. Factors such as pre-existing medical conditions, being overweight, age, the environment, stress, anxiety, and more can all affect someone’s ability to pass sobriety tests

dui/dwi attorney

Contact the Scranton DUI/DWI Attorneys at Lermitte & Lubin

If you have been charged with a DUI/DWI in Scranton or its neighboring areas, the DUI/DWI attorneys of Lermitte & Lubin can help you. The consequences for DUI/DWIs are varied and extensive and can leave a long-lasting effect on your life. Don’t risk going in alone, contact our Scranton law firm. We’re ready to be in your corner.

How To Find Us

Get In Touch

We aim to promptly address your message. While we maintain strict confidentiality, it's important to understand that reaching out to us does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

"*" indicates required fields