Jail Penalties for Virginia DUIs
Following a DUI arrest, it makes sense to question what potential jail penalties for Virginia DUIs exist, and which penalties you can expect to face. These penalties can depend on a variety of factors, including whether this is a first-offense or, a repeated offense. If you want to know more about jail penalties for DUIs, speak with a skilled Virginia DUI attorney who can fight for you.
Jail-Related Penalties for DUI
The jail penalties for Virginia DUIs depend on what the person is charged with, and what it is that they are convicted of. If it is a standard first offense DUI with a BAC of 0.14 or below, the odds are very strong that they will not get any jail time in Virginia. However, even if it is the first offense, if a person’s BAC is 0.15 or higher, they are looking at mandatory minimum jail time. If the BAC is between 0.15 and 0.20, it is five days in jail mandatory minimum. If the BAC is 0.21 or higher, it is a period of 10 days of mandatory minimum jail time. Similarly, if the person has a subsequent offense within 10 years, every single instance of that carries mandatory minimum jail time.
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
Anytime the general assembly writes a law that includes a mandatory minimum sentence in that actual language, it says the mandatory minimum period of incarceration of x number of days. The person charged with a DUI is going to serve every minute of that time. So if a person has a five-day mandatory minimum sentence, they will serve all five days. This is different than if a person is just serving a regular five-day sentence; the reason is that every day that they are in for good behavior they knock one day off to the back of the sentence. So, if a person has a five-day regular jail sentence, they are in for day one, they knock off day five, they are in for day two, they knock off day four, and when they are in for day three they have served 50 percent of the time. Now, obviously, if it is an odd number, they round up and round down so if it is an odd number, they will serve 50 percent plus one.
Minimum Amount of Time a Person Can Be Held For a DUI
The minimum amount of time that a person can be held for DUI is a couple of hours. Once a person is arrested, law enforcement will let them go as soon as they have sobered up. In some jails, they will let a person get a ride home from somebody even if they are still under the influence while other jails will not. It really just depends on where someone is arrested.
The maximum amount of time a person can be held after they have been charged is up to and including their court date, they have multiple offenses or have other issues going on that the court will not grant a bond and they could be held in jail without bond until their DUI trial. That is an extraordinarily rare circumstance, most people are able to get bond, there are very few cases where people are held without bond pending trial for DUI if that is the only issue that they have going on.
Contacting an Attorney
If you want to know more about jail penalties for Virginia DUIs, contact a qualified DUI lawyer. Your lawyer can use their experience to create a defense that incorporates defense strategies specific to your case. If a dismissal of these charges is not possible, a local DUI attorney will be familiar with the penalties in this jurisdiction, and can use their knowledge to mitigate the penalties you may face.
