DUI/DWI is shorthand for Driving Under the Influence/Driving While Intoxicated.

A person is guilty of DUI/DWI if he or she drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle and is under the influence of alcoholic beverages or any chemical or controlled substance to the extent that his or her mental faculties are impaired or when his or her blood alcohol level (BAC) is above the legal limit for the state (currently .08).

Even if your BAC is lower than the legal limit, you can still get charged with DWI. It is unlawful to drive with your normal faculties impaired. Normal faculties are those faculties of a person, such as the ability to walk, talk, judge distances, drive an automobile, make judgments, act in emergencies, etc. Any elevated BAC can result in abnormal facilities.

Furthermore, you need not actually drive a car in order to be arrested. You can still be found guilty if you had the capability and power to dominate, direct, or regulate the vehicle, regardless of whether you were exercising that capability or power at the time of the arrest. In other words, simply sitting behind the wheel with the keys in the ignition can lead to your arrest for DWI by being in actual physical control of the car.

You do not have to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test; however, refusing such may not be a good idea either. In Virginia , if you are convicted of unreasonable refusal to take a test, you will lose your license for 12 months. In addition, your refusal to submit to a test upon the request of a law enforcement officer is admissible in any criminal proceeding against you as evidence of you consciousness of guilt. By accepting the privilege extended by the laws of most states to drive, the courts have determined that you have given your consent to submit to an approved chemical or physical test of your breath for the purposes of determining your BAC. Therefore, when you sign your name on your license, you are saying that if stopped for a possible DUI/DWI, you will agree to take the test.

If you are arrested for a DWI., the law enforcement officer will seize your license and issue you a traffic ticket, which acts as your notice of suspension.

If you are convicted of a first offence DWI in Virginia , then your license will be suspended for 12 months. However, you are eligible for restricted privileges to and from work, to and from school and to and from alcohol counseling and for child care services. Under Virginia law, if you are convicted of a DWI 1 st Offense with a blood alcohol content (“BAC”) of 0.08 – 0.14, the prosecutor will most likely ask for jail time, but suspend all of it. Suspended jail time means that you do not serve any active jail time. However, if your BAC is 0.15 – 0.20, Virginia law requires that you must serve 5 days in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated. Furthermore, if your BAC is 0.21 or higher, Virginia law requires that you must serve 10 days in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated.

If you are convicted of a second offense DWI in 10 years, Virginia law requires that you must serve 10 days in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated. If you are convicted of a second offense DWI in 5 years, Virginia law requires that you must serve 20 days in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated. Furthermore, for either of these charges, upon conviction, your driver's license will be suspended for 3 years.

If you are convicted of a third or subsequent offense DWI in 10 years, Virginia law considers this a Felony, which requires 90 days in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated. If this is your third or subsequent DWI conviction in 5 years, Virginia law considers this a Felony, which requires 6 months in jail – this is mandatory minimum time that cannot be negotiated. Furthermore, for either of these charges, upon conviction, your driver's license will be suspended indefinitely.

Your DWI arrest can be contested. You may request a review of the driver's license suspension by the department of motor vehicles within a seven of days following your arrest. More importantly, your lawyer may contest the reasonable articulable suspicion for the traffic stop and/or the probable cause for the arrest itself. In addition, counsel can often suppress either the breath or blood certificates so that they may not be used as evidence. Often times, without the certificate as evidence, your case is either dismissed or reduced to reckless driving. A lawyer can also assist you in reducing a DWI 3 rd to a DWI 2 nd or a DWI 2 nd to a DWI 1 st , etc.