In an effort to further scrutinize the offense of DUI and to make it equivalent to a more heinous offense (felony) than it is (I'm not talking about Vehicular Homicide or Vehicular Assault), the legislature has once again instituted further penalties for offenders.
Some of the highlights include:
(1) holding second time offenders in jail until they are able to appear in front of a judge for the setting of conditions of release,
(2) requiring the installation of an ignition interlock device for repeat offenders within five days of arrest (even if they are subsequently acquitted or the case dismissed),
(3) while still allowing persons to apply for an ignition interlock device so that they may drive for employment purposes if their license is lost administratively, those individuals who qualified for an employer-waiver exemption (that is, the employee didn't have to install a device on their employer owned vehicle driven during employment for employment purposes only) are now required to wait for a period of time (30 days for a first offender and one year for second and above offenses) before the waiver can be utilized, thus requiring their dismissal from that position and loss their job, security, inability to pay their mortgage, etc. Does any other charge require these restrictive means? The answer is a resounding no!
No one condones DUI, but when the legislature takes it upon themselves to strike down all due process and constitutional defenses for those accused, something is amiss. A person charged with assaulting their spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend on numerous occasions and causing severe injury will face less scrutiny than a first time DUI offender!
If you have been charged with a DUI, call Nate at the Webb Law Firm (425) 398-4323.
