While no one plans on drinking and driving or being arrested for a DUI, be prepared to hire the best DUI attorney in town. The following frequently asked questions (FAQs) explain why.

What Costs Are Involved with a DUI?

Being arrested for a DUI is a costly proposition. First, your driver’s license is suspended which costs $690 to reinstate. Then there are the alcohol awareness classes you must attend; costs range from $250 – $400 depending on the terms of your probation. Finally, you are fined $1,000, if you’re a first-time offender; $3,000, if you’re a second or third time offender; and a whopping $14,000 fine if this is your fourth DUI.

Your car insurance policy rates can go up after receiving a third DUI offense, and you may even lose your car insurance entirely.

Will I Go To Jail?

If this is your first DUI, jail time may be avoided or a judge could sentence you for up to 90 days in jail. An experienced DUI attorney can often make the difference between jail time and probation. If this is your second or third offense, jail time can be up to one year.

If this is your fourth DUI, the criminal justice system exacts a more severe penalty. You may spend up to seven (7) years in jail, so we suggest that hire yourself the best DUI attorney money can buy.

How Long Does a DUI Stay on My Record?

Charges, arrests, court dates, misdemeanor and felony convictions will stay on your record until they are “expunged,” which means to have them removed from public record. This requires a petition to the state and/or jurisdiction in which the crime was prosecuted. Each state has different laws and processes for expunging criminal records. Misdemeanors and petty offenses are relatively easy to get expunged from one’s records. A felony DUI (fourth offense within 10 years) is much harder.

Factors for expunging records include:

• Time period between incident and expungement request
• No current criminal investigations or incidents
• Number of priors
• No convictions during waiting period
• Completed probation from conviction completed free of new criminal incidents
• Completed terms of the sentence and/or served time.

All of these requirements factor into the acceptance or denial of an “expungement” petition. Basically, the court system wants you to demonstrate that you are fully rehabilitated.

Many seek the help of a DUI lawyer to take care of the formal paperwork and proceedings. If you find yourself in the above situation, find a lawyer you can trust who specialized in trying DUI cases.