Hiring a Driving While Impaired Attorney in Louisiana is advisable even for the first offense, and especially important when the person has been convicted of DWI or driving under the influence previously. The state takes these offenses very seriously because the actions are risk factors for accidents that result in injury and even fatalities.
Relevant Statistics
Louisiana ranks ninth in the United States for fatal accidents related to alcohol use. A full 30 percent of deaths due to vehicle collisions in this state are caused by drunk drivers. More than half of those incidents were caused by drivers with blood alcohol content at almost twice the amount allowed by law. Officials in Louisiana are justifiably alarmed at this ranking and have imposed penalties accordingly in an effort to prevent this behavior.
Penalties
Conviction of DWI will mean paying a steep penalty and having the driver’s license suspended for a certain amount of time. Having the license reinstated also requires a fee. There is always the possibility of jail time since judges are allowed to impose a jail sentence for DWI if they believe there is a reason to do so.
Strategies
The defense lawyer will seek to learn whether law enforcement officials acted in error at any time during the process. For example, they might have stopped a driver simply because they suspected the person was impaired even though the driver had not done anything questionable and the vehicle did not have any safety or registration issues.
Another strategy a Driving While Impaired Attorney uses is to negotiate a plea bargain for a reduced charge. Typically, a successful plea bargain will lead to a charge of reckless driving. That is still a serious driving offense, but it tends to result in lower penalties than a DWI and has a lesser impact on the individual’s driving record.
If having the charge dismissed or reduced is not possible, a lawyer such as Chris Richard will work to persuade the judge to issue as lenient a sentence as is allowed. The client may help in this regard by beginning an alcohol rehabilitation program before any sentence is imposed. Visit the website chrisrichardattorney.com for information on this particular lawyer.
