You got pulled over in Las Vegas after having a few drinks and were arrested for DUI. Believe it or not, this is far more common than you would think, and even though this is a scary and confusing time for you, it will be all right. You made a mistake by driving after you were drinking, and you probably didn’t even feel drunk at all when you got behind the wheel. Most DUI arrests are not people who are completely drunk, but instead they simply misjudged the limits because they didn’t feel drunk. As you have probably already figured out, the legal limits in Nevada for blood alcohol level (BAC) are .08% for adults, .04% for commercial drivers and .02% for anyone under 21. There is a zero tolerance rule for people who have children under 15 in the car with them. These levels generally translate to about 1 drink per hour for your body to process it, which means that if you have a beer or a glass of wine you needed to wait an hour before driving. If you had two drinks then you need two hours and so on. Most people don’t feel drunk after a beer and a half, which is probably why you felt fine to drive but were actually over the legal limit. What is going to happen to you now probably has a lot to do with what happened during the traffic stop that got you arrested. If you took the field sobriety tests (which you should have refused) and blew into the breathalyzer over the legal limit, then that evidence is going to be used against you. Anything you said to the cop is going to be used against you. The best thing you can do is to hire an experienced DUI lawyer to represent you in court. If we can’t get the charges thrown out, we will get you the minimum punishments that are possible.

 

The main question that most people ask when they hire a DUI lawyer is “can they put me in jail for a first time DUI?” Even though the answer is “yes, in Nevada you can go to jail for a first time DUI,” it is a rare case that you would be sentenced to serve more time than you already have. The law in Nevada states that a person convicted of a first time DUI must serve a minimum of two days in jail, but the judges will usually consider the arrest and initial incarceration as two days credit toward the time served. If you were bailed out before two days was served, the judge will usually order 48-96 hours of community service instead of the remaining jail time. You will also receive a suspended sentence of six months in jail if you commit another crime during your probation, but this can be avoided by following all the rules and doing everything that you are told to do. If you were to be caught DUI again within seven years of your first, you will probably receive a standard sentence of ten days to six months in jail, or residential confinement. Fines for second offenses are usually $1,100 in Las Vegas courts.

 

Don’t gamble with your future if you have been arrested for DUI in Las Vegas. The penalties that are imposed by the judge can be minimal or they can be harsh. This is going to be decided by how well your DUI lawyer knows the system, and how you have conducted yourself. We are the top Las Vegas DUI lawyers. We are your best bet for the lightest sentence possible.