Your Virginia Legal Team

DUI Law Enforcement in Fredericksburg

Across Northern Virginia, DUI laws are enforced aggressively. DUI law enforcement in Fredericksburg is a high priority. There are many officers whose primary duty is to look out for drivers who may be suspected of driving under the influence and to conduct a DUI arrest. There are officers who make hundreds of arrests for DUI every year. They spend their entire shift looking for drivers who may be under the influence and arrest them for DUI. If an individual has been charged with a DUI offense, they should speak with a capable DUI attorney that could help them build an offense, following their arrest.

Seriousness of DUI Charges

DUI law enforcement in Fredericksburg is quite serious, partly because of the bad press that comes from DUIs when something really bad happens, and partly because a DUI is a dangerous offense.  When an accident occurs, it can cause thousands of dollars in property damage, and in especially serious cases, serious injuries and the loss of life. No prosecutor wants to be in the position of being light on DUIs and having the number of accidents in their county reported as a high volume rather than showing that they are very tough on DUIs and thus far fewer accidents in their jurisdiction.

Where DUI Cases Are Handled

In Fredericksburg, DUIs are generally handled in the General District Court. Most DUIs will be handled in that court unless there is an appeal of a decision from the General District Court, or if for some reason the case is directly indicted into the Circuit Court, then the Circuit Court handles the DUI. But in most instances, a DUI starts off in the General District Court where a judge will preside over the trial and determine whether the Government has been able to prove every element of the DUI beyond a reasonable doubt.

Law Enforcement Focus on DUI Offenses

The law enforcement officials and the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Fredericksburg, in particular, have chosen to focus on DUI convictions DUI law enforcement in Fredericksburg because of the publicity involved with those cases. When there are negative consequences stemming from a DUI, there tend to be very negative consequences.

In a bad traffic accident, people could be seriously injured, sometimes people die, and those are the cases that make it into the news. The harder a prosecutor can be on DUI cases, the more ability that prosecutor has to point to their record as being tough on DUIs, thereby showing the people who voted for that prosecutor, that the prosecutor’s office is really doing everything they can to reduce of number of accidents that occur after people are driving under the influence.

Unique Aspects of Fredericksburg DUI Cases

The way that DUI cases are handled in Fredericksburg differs somewhat from other counties in Northern Virginia because of the way the prosecutor’s office is set up in Fredricksburg. Fredericksburg is a very large jurisdiction with more prosecutors than most other jurisdictions in Virginia, which means that there are more prosecutors handling DUIs on a regular basis each day. Prosecutors get assigned to particular courtrooms in the General District Court. In Fairfax, the first time a prosecutor speaks with an officer about a DUI will be the first court date on which it appears. If the case is continued, that prosecutor will not necessarily stay with the case, but the police officer obviously will. At the second court date, the police officer attends court and will deal with a different prosecutor. A lot can be done in Fredericksburg just trying to make sure that regardless of who the prosecutor is, the concerns of the police officer are being addressed before the court.

Contact Us

Do not send us confidential information related to you or your company until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us.

Copyright 2024 Virginia Criminal Lawyer. All rights reserved. Disclaimer/Privacy Policy