Will you get Jail Time for a DWI With a Blood Alcohol Content Over .15?
Virginia law has different levels of DWI offenses. Depending upon your blood alcohol content and how many prior DWIs you’ve had, you are facing a variety of different punishments.
A basic first offense DWI is normally any case where your blood alcohol content is less than .15. If that is the case, in most instances you’re not going to be facing a real risk of jail in most courts. Now, this is a still case where you want to talk with an attorney. I would encourage you to contact me or request my free book on DWI defense, because there are still many other ramification, such as loss of license, suspended jail time, and potential impact on your career and your future.
Even if this is a first offense case, if you blood alcohol content was a .15 or higher, then you are facing the threat of mandatory jail time. What that means is that if you’re found guilty and the Commonwealth proves that your blood alcohol content was a .15 or more, the judge has to give you a certain amount of jail time. That jail time is dependent upon the actual proven blood alcohol content.
If your blood alcohol content was .15 up to .20 then you’re looking at a mandatory minimum of five days in jail.
If your blood alcohol content was .20 or more then you’re looking at a mandatory minimum of ten days in jail.
What can we do about this if you’re facing a charge of this nature?
I’ve written and made many videos about this. There are defenses for a Virginia DWI, and in any case those defenses come into play when they’re applicable. For a case where you have a high blood alcohol content and you’re facing mandatory jail time, it is a case where we may have some bargaining power to try to get the charge reduced in some way to try to avoid the mandatory jail time.
Many times the Commonwealth Attorney is concerned about getting a DWI conviction and having the license suspended and the ASAP requirement attached to everything. In some cases where you’re right on the line for jail time, for example, it may be a case we can bargain down where you would still end up with a DWI conviction, but you may not have to do the mandatory jail time. We may be able to at least reduce the amount of jail time that you’re facing.
This is definitely a reason why, if you’re facing any jail time for a DUI, or even just for a basic first offense, you should request my free book, How to Overcome Virginia DUI or DWI, and give me a call for a free consultation. That way, we can talk about the specifics of your case and what I can hopefully do for you.
Photo by: Lotus Carroll
