A Fairfax first-offense DUI lawyer is a necessity if you are looking to fight the charges brought by the state against you. The state of Virginia does not have leniency when it comes to penalties for DUIs. With a conviction, you would be facing the loss of your license for a year, possibly more. Because there are no mitigating factors for these results, you need to work with an attorney who could fight the state’s charges against you.
Everyone who is convicted of a DUI will have their license suspended for a period of 12 months. But, even before someone is convicted, at the moment that they are charged with DUI in Virginia, their driver’s license has an administrative suspension for a period of seven days. Someone who is charged with a first-offense DUI in Fairfax immediately has their driver’s license suspended for seven days.
Usually, the police officer takes physical custody of that person’s license and turns it into the court. After the seven days is up, that person’s license is no longer suspended, but they must go to the courthouse to pick up that license. Attorneys would advise people to actually go to the courthouse to pick up their license because, though the court may mail the license to the person after a week, any number of factors might increase the number of days before the court is able to send the license in the mail.
Even someone with no previous record who is convicted of a first-offense DUI in Fairfax will lose their driver’s license for a period of one year. The state code in Virginia specifies that everyone who has a DUI conviction must have their driver’s license suspended for a period of 12 months.
There is no way to reduce that period and there is no way to avoid that reduction except to avoid a conviction. Once convicted, the person loses their license for a period of one year, but it is possible to have a restricted operator’s license during that time period so that an individual may drive to and from work and to and from school.
A restricted operator’s license does not allow someone to drive everywhere and it does not allow anyone to make personal errands, to stop at a store, or even to stop at a grocery store on the way home from work. A restricted operator’s license allows someone to drive to and from certain events that are enumerated in the statute, and their license specifies exactly where they are allowed to go.
For example, someone who is convicted of a first DUI in Fairfax could have a restricted license to go to and from work, to and from school, and to and from a place of religious worship as well as to and from the required Alcohol Safety Action Program courses, meetings with probationary officers, and visits to the facility that installs and maintains the ignition interlock equipment on their car.
Because of Virginia’s strict laws regarding DUIs, it is critical that you take the steps necessary to fight a conviction. A conviction comes with unmitigable consequences, so when it comes time to fight a case, you need to have an experienced Fairfax first-offense DUI lawyer on your side who could challenge any evidence brought by the state. Reach out to an attorney today.
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