Phil Weinberg

I got a DOL Driver’s Hearing Request from the Arresting Officer – Should I apply for One? Yes, even though they are tough to win, and you must do that within 20 days from your date of arrest or “DUI stop.” The DOL must then set your DOL SUI suspension hearing within 60 days of … Read more

Governed by RCW 10.05 (see: http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=10.05), a deferred prosecution is a once-per-lifetime opportunity to make a burdensome deal with a court to do 2 years of intensive outpatient treatment for alcohol, drugs mental health or some combination of those issues and behave yourself, having the DUI (or other non-felony) criminal charge dismissed at the end … Read more

In Washington State there is Implied Consent for testing for alcohol and drugs if you are arrested for driving under the influence. They won’t strap you down and draw blood at gunpoint, but the fact that you refused may be used against you in court and the DOL Hearing, where it will probably be assumed … Read more

SR-22 or an SR-22 is a “high risk” insurance certificate required in most states, including Washington, after a DUI, but sometimes also to reinstate your driver’s license. The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) has a wealth of information about SR-22 insurance on its website. At: http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/sr22.html, it says: Financial responsibility (SR-22) What is financial … Read more

The best way to understand this terrible consequence and legal dilemma is to See this statute: RCW 46.65.020 Habitual offender defined. As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, an habitual offender means any person, resident or nonresident, who has accumulated convictions or findings that the person committed … Read more

What might the police have recorded or filmed on video & can we get it? We often used to get video from the station of the suspect being administered the breath tests in the breath testing room at the police station. Those videos often showed that there was defective or inadequate police booking and processing … Read more

NO!!! Speak to your attorney first! Do not make statements to the police (these are often ill-advised admissions they are trained to elicit). If you are stopped, identify yourself but everything else you tell the police will be used against you. You have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself. So, … Read more

Should I take a plea deal (prosecutor’s offer or sentencing recommendation) or go to trial? Good question. I don’t know yet as there is no one answer for all cases. It depends upon the unique facts and legal issues of your individual case, your criminal history, and your legal goals, what defenses are available for … Read more

Should I take the breath test or allow a blood test if I am stopped for DUI? “Yes” take the breath test at the station; but, “No” at the roadside. Since the birth of this great nation people have sacrificed their freedom, and their lives for you to have these constitutional rights. The constitutional right … Read more

But what if I cannot afford to hire a private attorney? Then should I represent myself (“pro se”) or get a public defender so I won’t have to pay a private attorney? No, no and no. I cannot overemphasize how unwise it is for someone charged with DUI or any other criminal offense to either … Read more