First offenders won’t get a break in Nevada if the charge is DUI and they are found guilty. In this state, DUI is defined as operating a motor vehicle while having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. You may even face a DUI with a lower BAC if the lesser amount of alcohol has impacted your driving in any way. Nevada enforces both criminal and “administrative” penalties for anyone convicted of DUI, including first-time offenders.
A 90-day administrative license suspension is automatic; however, after 45 days, convicted first offenders are eligible for a restricted/hardship license, but only if they complete DUI school and an alcohol/substance abuse assessment. License reinstatement at this time also mandates the use of an ignition interlock device.
On the criminal rather than administrative side, a first offense DUI conviction in Nevada carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of two days and a maximum sentence of six months. If sentenced to the minimum, offenders may choose forty-eight hours of community service rather than incarceration. Fines for a first offense DUI conviction can range from $400 to $1000, but those fines do not include any of the administrative costs associated with DUI school or license reinstatement. You may also face a $120 reinstatement fee, a $35 victims’ compensation civil penalty, a $22 driver license fee, and a vision test, written test, and driving skills field test.
A first offense DUI conviction in Nevada influences your record and future charges for seven years. If the prosecution can prove its case against you, you have no expectation of leniency.
If you’re arrested for driving under the influence, you won’t be alone. Several thousand people are charged with DUI every year in the city of Las Vegas alone. For the most part, they are first-time offenders who made a mistake that won’t happen again, or else they’ve been wrongly accused and they’re innocent. But if you have a drink or two and decide to drive, it doesn’t matter who you are.
In 1976, former President George W. Bush pleaded guilty to a DUI charge. His vice-president, Dick Cheney, also pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in Wyoming back in 1962. No group is immune. Athletes, musicians, movie stars, and yes, even judges and attorneys are arrested and convicted for DUI. A high-ranking official with the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, the archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005, was arrested for DUI in August in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A police officer saw Cardinal Levada swerve while driving on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. He was arrested, charged with DUI, and released on bail. There’s even a website called “Clergy Gone Wild” that publishes the names of rabbis, priests, and pastors facing DUI charges.
If you are charged with DUI in Nevada, consult at once with an experienced DUI defense attorney. DUI is treated as a serious charge in Nevada, and you’ll absolutely need the experienced counsel of a good DUI defense lawyer, someone who will answer your questions and fight to have your charges reduced or dismissed.
