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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    1

    Default Arrested for DUI While at Home Based on Witness Reports

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: PA
    Hello , I was recently charged with a DUI. I was out at a local bar and drove home after drinking a couple glasses of wine. I got home and shortly after I hear loud Knocks at my door which was the police. They told me they received calls about my driving and swirving. I was really scared as I have never been in this situation before. No prior records and have never done anything like this before. I was swirving because I had to go to the bathroom so stupidly was rushing home. The cops came in I did admit to being out and drinking and driving home and the cop gave me sobriety tests in my living room I lost balance I admit but I don't have good balance to begin with and was terrified and nervous being my first time in a situation like this. I was taken to get a blood test and then to the police station. I got the paperwork in the mail and my BAC came back extremely high at .245. I admit to drinking and I didn't eat very much that day but I don't understand how it was that high as the BAC calculators would consider that near death and that I would be unaware of where I was or what I was doing. I have a extremely small garage and parked my SUV with no issues. Didn't hit anything. One of the cops went down and witnesses there was no damage to my car. I had 3 glasses of wine at the at and when I got home I was finishing a glass that I had poured. I went upstairs to change and that's when the cops showed up. So I was home about 15-20 mins. I remember driving home I remember what I did when I got home and remember answering all of the cops questions. Which the cop did confirm in the report. With a BAC that high I feel like I wouldn't remember the details of the night. I am very scared and very concerned and wanted to get an opinion on what options I have.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Posts
    312

    Default Re: DUI at Home

    You absolutely need an attorney.

    Actually, you needed one before you decided to take their tests.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: DUI at Home

    Quote Quoting JDH0316
    View Post
    I am very scared and very concerned
    You should be. Your drunk driving just turned your life upside down.

    Quote Quoting JDH0316
    View Post
    I wanted to get an opinion on what options I have.
    Only one.

    Hire a very good DUI attorney. That'll cost you a few thousand.

    Probably won't keep you from getting convicted. You'll pay fines, likely have your license suspended, all sorts of other unpleasantness.

    Your insurance will likely be cancelled and when next you buy insurance it'll cost you about 3 times as much.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: Arrested for DUI While at Home Based on Witness Reports

    Blood tests are the most accurate way to test BAC. Alcohol affects each person differently and just going by general guidelines of how much alcohol will amount to .08 BAC isn’t very useful because of that fact. If you truly did only have 3 glasses of wine I agree that a .245 BAC would be unlikely, unless they were rather large glasses and quite strong. But I kind of suspect you had more than the 3 glasses of wine that night or the BAC would not have been that high. Not all people at a .245 BAC end up passed out on the floor and unable to remember what they did. Again, each person reacts differently to alcohol and general guidelines are not all that useful in telling you how it will actually affect you. You are free to have the blood sample tested yourself to ensure the testing was done accurately, though. That should be done by your attorney, and yes, you really do need an attorney for this.

    Regardless of the BAC level, though, you have the problem that you admitted to the cops you had been drinking before you drove the car home (and probably admitted you were at a bar) and your driving was observed by witnesses to include swerving and that would suggest that you were impaired by the alcohol. Even if if your BAC is below .08 you may be charged with a DUI if the state has evidence that you had some amount of alcohol or drugs in your system and that your driving was impaired because of it. You could try testifying that your poor driving was only because you badly needed to use a restroom, but few juries will buy that, to be frank. They will wonder why you didn’t go before leaving the bar or stop somewhere along the way home to use a restroom rather than driving in an unsafe, erratic manner.

    Get yourself a lawyer. It’s the best way to minimize the impact of the DUI charge. Perhaps the attorney will come up with a defense that will avoid conviction completely. Even if the attorney can’t do that, perhaps he or she can get a favorable plea deal worked out for you.

    However this turns out, I would advise you not to drive after drinking in the future. No matter how much you drink you can get hit with a DUI so there is no such thing as a safe amount to drink and not get a DUI. Each drink you consume reduces your reaction time and ability to perceive events around you and increases the risk to you and others of being involved in an accident. I realize this is not a popular thing to say, but if you want to go out and do any amount of drinking then arrange some way home that does not involve anyone driving who had been drinking. The risks of driving after drinking, both in terms of safety and in terms of legal problems from DUI charges, makes doing that a very poor choice.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    WV
    Posts
    230

    Default Re: Arrested for DUI While at Home Based on Witness Reports

    Sorry for a late posting.
    Double check the lab report, the 0.08 standard is a % by weight whereas the lab report might be a mass per volume. So the 245 may be a higher number because they used a different measuring stick.
    It does however sound like you were under the influence even with the 3 glasses, you need to consult with an attorney.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Arrested for DUI While at Home Based on Witness Reports

    A month after the original posting the poster is probably long gone. Even if you want to argue the difference between weight and volume, you're only talking about a 6% difference. Even a corrected value at .245% is going to be within the HIGHEST range in PA (which is only .16) given your most favorable conditions. In practice, there is no discrpancy. The test and standard in PA (and just about everywhere in the US) is g/ml (i.e. per volume).

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