DWI and Liability of the Accomplice and DWI Defense

Most states in the US consider the DWI or driving while intoxication as a criminal offence and any individual booked under these charges might lose his/her driving licence, driver’s rights, pay hefty penalty or serve a term in the prison. Along with criminal penalties the individual might also face administrative punishment. And if the driver tests positive in the alcohol consumption test and if it exceeds the blood-alcohol consumption of .08 then he/she could face serious charges. One thing to note here is, the driver alone will not be held as a culprit but the passenger will also face the legal brunt. This is because the court will come to the conclusion that the owner or passenger despite knowing the fact that the driver is drunk or intoxicated has allowed the driver to sit behind the wheels.http://nhdwiblog.com/nhdwiguy.html

Why a passenger is considered accomplice?

The law considers the passenger of the vehicle to be the partner in crime, which is actually committed by the driver and he/she could face similar chargers as the driver and this is completely different from an accessory, where in the individual might not have been present while the offence was committed by the driver.

Proving the liability of the accomplice by the prosecution

The prosecutor must prove the following; principal offender committed the crime, the accomplice was completely aware of the crime committed and also shared the same intentions of that of the principal offender and the accomplice aided the offender commit the crime. And if you are convicted of the crime then you might either have to pay huge penalty or your license might get cancelled or have to serve a jail term depending on the severity of the crime committed.

First time DWI offense:

Considered as a Class-B misdemeanor
Penalty up to USD 2,000
Holding in respective county jail for 72 hours to maximum of 6 months
Community service of 24-100 hours of community service

Second time DWI offense:

Considered as a Class AMisdemeanor
Penalty up to USD 4,000
Holding in jail for 72 hours to 1 year
Community service of 80-200 hours
Suspension of driver license for 180 days to 2 years

Third time DWI offense:

Considered as a third-degree felony
Fine of up to $10,000
Holding in respective state Penitentiary for 2-10 years
Communityservice of 160-200 hours
Suspension of DL for 180 days to 2 years

To avoid these and have your DWI defended it is wise to hire an experienced and a well-known DWI lawyer to defend the charges framed on you and minimize the punishment or come out of the case with a clean image.