Las Vegas DUI Lawyers – Helping Clients Win Cases

1. What are the penalties for a 1st time DUI in Nevada?
2. What is the punishment for a 2nd DUI?
3. What if I get a third DUI?
4. When is DUI a felony?
5. Do I have to appear in court?
6. Can I avoid a driver’s license suspension?
7. Will the DUI offense show on a background check?
8. Can I get a DUI even if I was under the limit?
9. Can I beat a DUI even if I was over the limit?
10. What if I get the DUI charge reduced to reckless driving?
11. Can a DUI be dismissed in Nevada?
12. Do I need to hire a lawyer?
13. Can I hire you without coming to your law office?
14. How much does it cost to hire a lawyer for DUI?
15. Additional Resources

What are the penalties for a 1st time DUI in Nevada?

The typical penalties for a first offense of drunk driving as a misdemeanor are:

1. $400 to $1,000 in fines plus court costs;
2. 8-hour DUI School (which can usually be done online);
3. Attendance at a Victim Impact Panel (such as MADD);
4. 2 days to 6 months in jail time (usually the judge suspends the jail sentence or orders 48 to 96 hours of community service); and
5. A 185-day driver’s license revocation (though it may be possible to get a restricted license with a breath interlock device)

If the defendant’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.18% or greater, the defendant will also have to submit to an alcohol/drug dependency evaluation, do rehab, and drive with an ignition interlock device (IID) for one-to-three years. Defendants are responsible for paying for IID installation and monthly monitoring.¹

What is the punishment for a 2nd DUI?

A second-time DUI within a seven-year period is also a Nevada misdemeanor, but there is a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 10 days. The full sentence includes:

1. $750 to $1,000 in fines plus court costs;
2. 12-hour DUI School;
3. Victim Impact Panel attendance;
4. 10 days to 6 months in jail (or house arrest);
5. 1-year license revocation; and
6. Possibly a one-year court-ordered substance abuse program

If the defendant’s BAC is 0.18% or greater, the defendant will also have to install an ignition interlock device in his/her vehicles for one to three years and pay for all associated costs.

But it may be possible to avoid jail by completing misdemeanor DUI Court, an extensive rehabilitation program.²

What if I get a third DUI?

A third-time DUI in a seven-year time span is an automatic category B felony in Nevada. The punishments include:

1. 1 to 6 years in prison;
2. $2,000 to $5,000 in fines plus court costs;
3. 1 to 3 years of using an ignition interlock device, plus paying all associated costs; and
4. 3-year license revocation

But it may be possible to avoid prison by completing felony DUI Court, an extensive rehabilitation program.³

When is DUI a felony?

There are three circumstances where driving under the influence is a felony in Nevada, and each carries a different prison sentence:

1. The defendant had two DUIs in the prior seven years, punishable by 1 to 6 years in prison; or
2. The incident results in death or substantial bodily harm, punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison; or
3. The defendant has a prior felony DUI conviction, punishable by 2 to 15 years in prison.⁴

Do I have to appear in court?

Usually, people charged with DUI/DWI do not have to go to court as long as their Nevada criminal defense lawyer appears on their behalf. Defendants will have to show up in the rare event the case goes to trial (or a preliminary hearing in felony drunk driving cases).

Some judges request that defendants attend their sentencing hearing. But most accept a notarized written entry of plea instead.

Can I avoid a driver’s license suspension?

Each arrest for driving under the influence opens a criminal case as well as a DMV case. Defendants must win both in order to keep their driving privileges. The DMV case is actually more difficult to win than the criminal case since the DMV demands a much lower burden of proof.

Fortunately, first-time drunk driving defendants who lose the DMV hearing can often obtain a restricted license right away.⁵

Will the DUI offense show on a background check?

Yes, a misdemeanor drunk driving conviction stays on defendants’ criminal records for seven years before it can be sealed. And felony DUI convictions remain on defendants’ records forever. That is why it is so important to have an attorney fighting to get the DUI charges reduced to reckless driving or dismissed.⁶

Can I get a DUI even if I was under the limit?

Yes. Nevada prohibits driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, even if the driver’s blood does not contain illegal levels of drugs or alcohol.

Conversely, it is also considered DUI to drive with an illegal blood alcohol content (BAC), even if the driver is not intoxicated. Nevada makes it automatically illegal to drive with a BAC of:

• 0.08% for adults 21 and older
• 0.04% for commercial drivers
• 0.02% for under-21 drivers⁷

Can I beat a DUI even if I was over the limit?

There are many ways to cast doubt on a defendant’s BAC results for driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances. Perhaps the breath or blood testing equipment was defective or mishandled. Maybe a medical condition or other external factors caused a falsely high reading. And even if the BAC results were accurate, judges can dismiss DUI criminal charges over police misconduct alone.

What if I get the DUI charge reduced to reckless driving?

There are several benefits to getting a misdemeanor DUI charge lessened to reckless driving. First, defendants convicted of misdemeanor reckless driving have to wait only one year after the case ends to petition for a criminal record seal (as opposed to seven years following a misdemeanor DUI conviction).

Secondly, a reckless driving conviction – unlike a DUI conviction – does not trigger a driver’s license suspension. Therefore, DUI defendants who get a charge reduction can avoid a license suspension as long as they also win the DMV hearing.

Finally, if defendants pick up another DUI arrest in the future, the earlier reckless driving conviction will not count as a prior DUI. This is important since DUIs carry harsher penalties with each successive conviction.⁸

Can a DUI be dismissed in Nevada?

Nevada criminal defense attorneys fight to get DUI charges dismissed or reduced. Prosecutors typically rely on four kinds of evidence when attempting to prove a drunk driving charge in court:

1. the defendant was not driving the motor vehicle in a regular, sober manner,
2. the police observed that the defendant smelled, spoke, walked and acted like an intoxicated person,
3. the defendant was unable to perform the roadside field sobriety tests correctly, and
4. the defendant’s breath test or blood test results returned a blood-alcohol level above 0.08%.

Each of these “pieces of evidence” can possibly be dismantled by a seasoned Las Vegas criminal defense attorney who knows the best ways to attack the state’s case. For instance, did you know:

• University studies demonstrate that trained law enforcement officers are no better than average social drinkers at discerning whether a person qualifies as intoxicated…and they get it wrong most of the time!
• The federal government mandates a set of procedures for how police must administer the roadside sobriety tests…but the police almost never follow these processes correctly!
• Breathalyzers are prone to false positives by common conditions like heartburn, acid reflux, braces, cavities, dental pockets, burping, diabetes, high-protein diets, and residual alcohol inside the defendant’s mouth!

For a fuller discussion of these issues, refer to our article How to Fight a Las Vegas, NV Drunk Driving Case by the experienced Las Vegas DUI attorneys of Las Vegas Defense Group.

Do I need to hire a lawyer?

Nevada law forbids prosecutors from dismissing or reducing drunk driving charges unless there is insufficient evidence to secure a conviction. Therefore, defendants need aggressive Las Vegas DUI attorneys and trial lawyers to investigate every detail to weaken the state’s case.

And the fact is that prosecutors are more likely to negotiate a good plea deal when a law firm with experienced DUI defense lawyers represents the defendant.

Can I hire you without coming to your law office?

Of course. We offer remote consultations over the telephone or video conference. We can process all paperwork through email.

COVID-19 has not slowed down DUI arrests, so our attorneys at Las Vegas Defense Group are continuing to fight our hardest in pursuit of charge dismissals or reductions.

How much does it cost to hire a lawyer for DUI?

It depends on the case. We offer flexible payment plans and discount prices.

 

Arrested in California? Go to our information page on California drunk driving laws.

Arrested in Colorado? Go to our information page on Colorado drunk driving law.

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Legal References