DUI Laws in Washington State

Being charged with any crime is a nightmare. But with the growing stigma society places on drunk driving a DUI charge can be one of the worst. A DUI charge can threaten your freedom with jail time.

Washington has some of the strictest, most draconian laws regarding DUI in America. RCW 46.61.5055 requires mandatory jail time, mandatory loss of license, mandatory fines, mandatory ignition interlock, and mandatory treatment as just the start of the penalties. Some of the collateral losses are mandatory high risk insurance that will be required and the loss of the ability to visit Canada (A DUI in Canada is a felony and Canadian immigration will not let those convicted of DUI through the border). Sometimes, just having been charged with a DUI prevents travel to Canada as the border agents do not always understand the difference between an accusation and a conviction.

No matter what kind of DUI charge you’re facing you need an experienced Tacoma/Pierce County DUI defense lawyer on your side who will fight to get you your best result possible.

Be Prepared if You Are Pulled Over

There are increased penalties depending on if you refused to take the breath or blood test or had a blood alcohol concentration .15 or above. And for every additional DUI you have on your record, or an offense treated as a prior DUI by RCW 46.61.5055 (physical control, deferred prosecution, negligent driving in the first degree amended from DUI, reckless driving or endangerment amended from DUI). Those penalties increase dramatically until on the fifth DUI a person is looking at years of prison time. One final consequence to note is that you will almost certainly lose your right to drive by a license suspension by the Department of Licensing (DOL) unless you get an attorney veteran in DOL hearings right away.

There is More Than One Kind of DUI in Washington – All Can Be Defended

You may be thinking, “What kind of DUI? A DUI is a DUI.” Actually, there are categories of DUIs. Each of them has their own hurdles. You may find yourself in one of the following scenarios.

Alcohol Using a Breath Test

First is the one that most people are familiar with – the blood alcohol content (BAC). In Washington law anyone that takes a breath test and has more than .08 BAC is charged with DUI. If it’s over .15 the penalties increase. This may feel hopeless. After all they have science on their side, right? Your defense attorney has options. One of the first things your defense attorney will do is investigate the investigation. Both police and even machines can make mistakes. If there is any doubt about the validity of the test results your defense attorney will seek to have that disallowed as evidence. Without any evidence, the prosecution would need to dismiss the case. Wouldn’t that be a relief? The horrible nightmare would be over.

“Affected By” DUIs

But what if you refused the breath test? Or what if, for whatever reason, the officer didn’t have the equipment. A DUI can still be charged. This is charged as “affected by”. It means that in the judgment of the officer who stopped you your driving was negatively affected by alcohol. There are options for a defense attorney in this case as well. After all, it’s now really very subjective. Your defense attorney will check the camera if one was there to see if those images cast doubt and will also question any other witnesses. Remember that the prosecution has to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Your defense attorney shows that they failed to do so. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear “not guilty”? You would be able to breathe again.

Drug DUIs

However, DUI does not stop at alcohol. “Driving under the Influence” can mean drugs. One of those drugs is marijuana, but other drugs can get you charged with a DUI also. If the accusation involved an illegal drug, you may also be facing possession charge. The Pierce County/Tacoma DUI defense lawyers at Smith & White, PLLC can counsel and defend for both charges. But what if it was a legally prescribed drug? What if you only took the prescribed dose? If it impaired your driving you could still be charged. But, we may be able to use that in an argument to get the charge or sentence reduced.

Marijuana-Specific DUIs

You may be thinking, “Marijuana is now legal! How can a DUI be charged?” Well, alcohol is legal too but it’s illegal to drive under the influence. In fact, due to the legalization of marijuana, it now has its own “BAC” test. A person that has 5ng or more of THC in their blood is charged automatically with DUI, just like if they had a .08 BAC. Of course, if the test is refused or the equipment is unavailable the officer has the ability to charge an “affected by” charge. In both circumstances, the defense strategies that were available above to the DUI Defense attorney with alcohol are still available.

Because of its legalization, marijuana has its own special set of rules. Much like .08 of alcohol is presumed to affect your driving, 5 ng of THC is presumed to affect your driving too. Unlike .08 for alcohol, there are NO studies supporting the 5 ng standard. Marijuana was illegal so they could not study it. Many experts are of the opinion that a driver could easily still have 5 ng of THC in their blood from consuming marijuana the day before.

Many people do not know that ANY substance in your system, legal or otherwise, from methamphetamine to prescription Ambien, can be the basis for a DUI charge if law enforcement believes it affected your ability to control a motor vehicle. Even if you are taking the medication as prescribed. Our attorneys at The Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC, have a unique defense to prescription DUIs stemming from old case law related to the mens rea, mental state, required to commit a crime. And frankly, many prosecutor’s offices are not familiar with the effects of prescription medication to know if the perceived “bad driving” is even a result of that medicine or something unrelated. Let the DUI defense attorneys at The Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC, educate them for you.

Implied Consent (RCW 46.20.308)

Washington State has some of the strictest and most unique DUI laws in the United States. One of the most interesting aspects of these laws is the concept of “implied consent.”

Under Washington State’s implied consent law, if a driver is arrested for DUI and they refuse to take a breath or blood test, they automatically face additional penalties such as longer driver’s license suspension. This means that by simply operating a motor vehicle on the state’s roads, drivers are deemed to have given their consent to be tested for alcohol or drugs if they are suspected of driving under the influence.

The state’s implied consent law is designed to deter drivers from refusing to take a breath or blood test when they are arrested for DUI. If a driver refuses to take a test, it is assumed that they are trying to avoid being convicted of DUI, and therefore, additional penalties are imposed as a deterrent.

Another interesting aspect of Washington State’s DUI laws is its “per se” law. A per se law makes it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. This means that even if a driver is not visibly impaired, they can still be arrested and charged with DUI if their BAC is above the legal limit. This is in contrast to other states where the prosecutor must prove that the driver’s ability to drive was actually impaired by alcohol or drugs.

This per se law is based on the idea that any amount of alcohol can impair a person’s ability to drive, and therefore, it is illegal to drive with any amount of alcohol in your system above a certain limit. This law is more strict than many other state’s laws and make it easier for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute DUI offenders.

Zero-Tolerance for Drivers Under 21

Additionally, Washington State also has a zero-tolerance law for drivers under the age of 21, which means that drivers under 21 can be arrested for DUI if they have any amount of alcohol in their system. This law is meant to deter young drivers from drinking and driving, as it is well-known that young drivers are more likely to be involved in alcohol-related crashes.

Ignition Interlock Devices

Another unique aspect of Washington State’s DUI laws is the use of ignition interlock devices (IID). An IID is a device that is installed in a vehicle and requires the driver to blow into it before starting the car. If the device detects alcohol on the driver’s breath, the car will not start. IIDs are often required for drivers who have been convicted of DUI as a condition of having their driver’s license reinstated. This is a strict measure to prevent repeat offenders.

Refusal of the Breath Test

By the way, when you refuse a breath test there is a “refusal” prong added to the charge. The DOL increases the suspension of your license from 90 days to 2 years and prosecutors tend to view refusals harshly. However, if you did refuse, all is not lost. For one thing, remember now that the prosecution has to charge as affected and it’s easier to defend against a subjective person’s judgment than a machine. If you have a prior conviction, the refusal may have been advisable – the suspension is 2 years anyway. Plus, it’s well within your rights to refuse and juries know this.

Our DUI Attorneys Can Help

If you have been charged with a crime of driving while under the influence or physical control, you need an attorney with the compassion to hear your side of the case and the passion to defend you in court than contact our office. Come to our Law Office for an intake with our Tacoma DUI defense lawyers, call the mainline at (253) 203-1645 or contact us online.