anybody here ever get a dwi?

EmBleve

slightofjeff wrote:

The big downside is that it's going to cost me an additional $7,000 over just taking the OAH deal. My question seems to be: Is it worth an extra $7,000 not to have "obstruction of a highway" show up on my background check?

just my thoughts: if you have $7000 to spare, and if it means a guarantee of no record, it's a no brainer.

slightofjeff

EmBleve wrote:

slightofjeff wrote:

The big downside is that it's going to cost me an additional $7,000 over just taking the OAH deal. My question seems to be: Is it worth an extra $7,000 not to have "obstruction of a highway" show up on my background check?

just my thoughts: if you have $7000 to spare, and if it means a guarantee of no record, it's a no brainer.

It brings me back to my original point: What's so bad about having a misdemeanor on your record? What does it cost me down the road?

Also, nothing is guaranteed. I could spend the extra $7,000 and be found guilty, meaning I have a DWI on my record instead of "obstructing a highway." Lawyer thinks that's unlikely, but it's not 100 percent guaranteed.

lukin2006

EmBleve wrote:

lukin2006 wrote:

It's up to the crown how they proceed...It's still a criminal record, and I'm sure the in the US the DA has the same option.

yes, but like that says, most are considered misdemeanors. Unless you have multiple convictions, which I'm sure is a different story.

Wouldn't be surprised that more are pursued as felonies...in Ontario they are getting tougher on DUI's...either way if you have a criminal record and you buy Pearl Jam tickets for the upcoming Canadian tour...beware the customs officer's can turn you back.

The Juggler

slightofjeff wrote:

EmBleve wrote:

just my thoughts: if you have $7000 to spare, and if it means a guarantee of no record, it's a no brainer.

It brings me back to my original point: What's so bad about having a misdemeanor on your record? What does it cost me down the road?

Also, nothing is guaranteed. I could spend the extra $7,000 and be found guilty, meaning I have a DWI on my record instead of "obstructing a highway." Lawyer thinks that's unlikely, but it's not 100 percent guaranteed.

back in the day i had a bad streak of 2 dui's in a 1 year period of time (2 different states and luckily the states did not communicate to each other so i didn't have to worry about pa finding out about va's offense). anywho back then i just lost my license for 3 months...had to go to aa meetings....and was on probation for a year. pa made me attend a safe driving class and had to do this community service thing (picking up trash/painting sheds and stuff) for a weekend. that was it.

things are much tougher now though. i would just plead guilty and deal with it. cost will probably add up to a lot more than what your lawyer quoted you with court fees and stuff, plus there's obviously no guarantee you won't eventually end up getting off anyway.

only way this can hurt you, except for the canada thing (which i know plenty who never had an issue getting there with a dui) is if you apply for a job where you'll need to use a company car or something. that's the only issue i've ever had (worked for a car rental company right out of college when the first incident happened--had to leave there--that was a blessing in disguise though ).


so with all that said.....welcome to the club ....relax people, i'm kidding. :roll:

EmBleve

lukin2006 wrote:

Wouldn't be surprised that more are pursued as felonies...in Ontario they are getting tougher on DUI's...either way if you have a criminal record and you buy Pearl Jam tickets for the upcoming Canadian tour...beware the customs officer's can turn you back.

Thanks. I wasn't trying to go because I can only afford PJ20 this time, but I was surprised to hear the DUI thing and getting into Canada.

RYEzupSF

slightofjeff wrote:

A little more info:

Our county DA and police chief have had a bug up their ass about DWI recently, and for good reason. So our county is stricter than most in the state or the country.

The "obstruction of highway" plea deal is the only deal I'm going to get. DA won't come back later and give you reckless driving or public intoxication or anything like that. If I turn down the OAH deal, the case WILL go to trial.

My potential lawyer -- who is very good and widely known -- thinks he can get me off on a couple of fronts. Since the officer told me I could go home faster if I blew into the breath machine -- which apparently is considered a form of coercion -- the lawyer thinks he can get the breath test result deemed inadmissable in court.

At which point, the state's only case are the field sobriety tests, which frankly are so convoluted that I couldn't pass them right now dead-ass sober.

The big downside is that it's going to cost me an additional $7,000 over just taking the OAH deal. My question seems to be: Is it worth an extra $7,000 not to have "obstruction of a highway" show up on my background check?

In my opinion is worth the extra money to not have it on your record. If you have a good chance to get off, go for it. I work for a PreTrial Diversion agency and a lot of the clients that come through here have DUIs on their records. So many of them have had difficulty getting jobs, insurance, etc on account of it. The other thing is if you ever plan on moving to another state you may be required to fulfill the legal requirements as a DUI offender to get your license there, which can cost a lot of money. Good luck with everything!

voidofman

Back in '08 my g/f (wife now) were driving down to her place in Tacoma from Vancouver, she was feeling tired so I drove. I didn't have a license but it wasn't the first time I drove, I know how it works. Anyways, I got pulled over for going 10 miles over the limit, everyone was doing it. It was on a sketchy patch of the highway so I drove up a bit to make sure the car was completely off the highway. Luckily he was on a bike. So he has to come over to the passenger side since he would have been in the highway if he was on my side. I tried to fight it at first saying I was only going ten miles over the limit, he said, "well it's the holiday weekend." It was Wednesday and Thanksgiving was coming up. Wow. Didn't say anything to that.

I was thinking, either I tell him I don't have a license or give him my BC ID and he finds out it's not a license. It says it right on the back in big bold print THIS IS NOT A LICENSE. I know he looked on the back because the speeding ticket he gave me had my height and weight on it, which is on the back. Can't remember how much the ticket was for 80 - 115 or something like that. We paid it and hoped they didn't figure out what happened.

Looked online and found that this is a misdemeanor, $1,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail.

slightofjeff

The Juggler wrote:

slightofjeff wrote:

EmBleve wrote:

just my thoughts: if you have $7000 to spare, and if it means a guarantee of no record, it's a no brainer.

It brings me back to my original point: What's so bad about having a misdemeanor on your record? What does it cost me down the road?

Also, nothing is guaranteed. I could spend the extra $7,000 and be found guilty, meaning I have a DWI on my record instead of "obstructing a highway." Lawyer thinks that's unlikely, but it's not 100 percent guaranteed.

back in the day i had a bad streak of 2 dui's in a 1 year period of time (2 different states and luckily the states did not communicate to each other so i didn't have to worry about pa finding out about va's offense). anywho back then i just lost my license for 3 months...had to go to aa meetings....and was on probation for a year. pa made me attend a safe driving class and had to do this community service thing (picking up trash/painting sheds and stuff) for a weekend. that was it.

things are much tougher now though. i would just plead guilty and deal with it. cost will probably add up to a lot more than what your lawyer quoted you with court fees and stuff, plus there's obviously no guarantee you won't eventually end up getting off anyway.

only way this can hurt you, except for the canada thing (which i know plenty who never had an issue getting there with a dui) is if you apply for a job where you'll need to use a company car or something. that's the only issue i've ever had (worked for a car rental company right out of college when the first incident happened--had to leave there--that was a blessing in disguise though ).


so with all that said.....welcome to the club ....relax people, i'm kidding. :roll:

The job thing is what frightens me a little. I'm pretty safe and steady right now, but always in the back of my mind always thought I might find a teaching job in 10 years or so.

If my record shows a misdemeanor obstruction of highway charge in 2011, do you think that would screw my chances of getting a teaching job at some undetermined point in the future?

norm

i have no help for ya jeff but it's good to see ya around :wave:

slightofjeff

RYEzupSF wrote:

slightofjeff wrote:

A little more info:

Our county DA and police chief have had a bug up their ass about DWI recently, and for good reason. So our county is stricter than most in the state or the country.

The "obstruction of highway" plea deal is the only deal I'm going to get. DA won't come back later and give you reckless driving or public intoxication or anything like that. If I turn down the OAH deal, the case WILL go to trial.

My potential lawyer -- who is very good and widely known -- thinks he can get me off on a couple of fronts. Since the officer told me I could go home faster if I blew into the breath machine -- which apparently is considered a form of coercion -- the lawyer thinks he can get the breath test result deemed inadmissable in court.

At which point, the state's only case are the field sobriety tests, which frankly are so convoluted that I couldn't pass them right now dead-ass sober.

The big downside is that it's going to cost me an additional $7,000 over just taking the OAH deal. My question seems to be: Is it worth an extra $7,000 not to have "obstruction of a highway" show up on my background check?

In my opinion is worth the extra money to not have it on your record. If you have a good chance to get off, go for it. I work for a PreTrial Diversion agency and a lot of the clients that come through here have DUIs on their records. So many of them have had difficulty getting jobs, insurance, etc on account of it. The other thing is if you ever plan on moving to another state you may be required to fulfill the legal requirements as a DUI offender to get your license there, which can cost a lot of money. Good luck with everything!

That's some good info.

My thing is, if I took the deal, I wouldn't have a DWI on my record. I'd have something called "obstruction of highway." That's sort of the reason for taking it ... it guarantees you no DWI. But it also guarantees you *something* on your record.

slightofjeff

norm wrote:

i have no help for ya jeff but it's good to see ya around :wave:

It's good to be around. Bad week, though. Pretty sure part of the collateral damage from this is going to be no PJ20 for me :(

EmBleve

RYEzupSF wrote:

slightofjeff wrote:

A little more info:

Our county DA and police chief have had a bug up their ass about DWI recently, and for good reason. So our county is stricter than most in the state or the country.

The "obstruction of highway" plea deal is the only deal I'm going to get. DA won't come back later and give you reckless driving or public intoxication or anything like that. If I turn down the OAH deal, the case WILL go to trial.

My potential lawyer -- who is very good and widely known -- thinks he can get me off on a couple of fronts. Since the officer told me I could go home faster if I blew into the breath machine -- which apparently is considered a form of coercion -- the lawyer thinks he can get the breath test result deemed inadmissable in court.

At which point, the state's only case are the field sobriety tests, which frankly are so convoluted that I couldn't pass them right now dead-ass sober.

The big downside is that it's going to cost me an additional $7,000 over just taking the OAH deal. My question seems to be: Is it worth an extra $7,000 not to have "obstruction of a highway" show up on my background check?

In my opinion is worth the extra money to not have it on your record. If you have a good chance to get off, go for it. I work for a PreTrial Diversion agency and a lot of the clients that come through here have DUIs on their records. So many of them have had difficulty getting jobs, insurance, etc on account of it. The other thing is if you ever plan on moving to another state you may be required to fulfill the legal requirements as a DUI offender to get your license there, which can cost a lot of money. Good luck with everything!

^^this. If you have a chance to get it off, try to do it if you can.

RYEzupSF

slightofjeff wrote:

That's some good info.

My thing is, if I took the deal, I wouldn't have a DWI on my record. I'd have something called "obstruction of highway." That's sort of the reason for taking it ... it guarantees you no DWI. But it also guarantees you *something* on your record.

You can always get your record expunged after a certain amount of time. But that is going to cost a lot of time, more money and lawyer time. the other thing is you never know what the future holds as far as laws go and what certain convictions will be considered in the future. fight it! I see people get screwed all the time. You made a mistake, but it doesn't need to last you a lifetime, you know?

norm

slightofjeff wrote:

norm wrote:

i have no help for ya jeff but it's good to see ya around :wave:

It's good to be around. Bad week, though. Pretty sure part of the collateral damage from this is going to be no PJ20 for me :(

ya sorry about all this...no fuckfest for me either...no money and the whole thing just doesn't seem worth it even if i had $$

Evil Merlin Part Deux

The Obstruction of Highway charge is the same class as a DWI. However you won't have that stigma on there. I used to work for a company where we had a couple of offices in Houston and Dallas and this was brought up before when they visited here.

If you take the plea you'll definitely save money. As far as potential employers just disclose it right away and from what I've heard owning up to it right on an application, it never was an issue for judgement in whether or not they got a job. Insurance went up, but not too much, more along the lines of getting a ticket. They were men in their 40's though, so they weren't sure how much it would have gone up anyway with a DWI charge, and the only comparison I have is my ex who was 22 and her insurance doubled when she was convicted of a DUI. I'm guessing a big chunk of that was her age though anyway. I also made a joke saying that, well at least it was totally worth it cause she had fun until she was arrested that night, so it was like she was just paying premium prices to party! Fuck me for trying to lighten the mood, I had to dodge a slap!

Back to your topic, you think the breathalyzer can be taken out of court, but what about the field sobriety test? That obviously won't work to your advantage if allowed, and well...honestly there's not much that will work to your advantage in a case like this. Also was this videotaped by the camera on the car? How much do they really have against you that you'd have to fight against in trial?

Also, talk to your lawyer about a deferred adjudication probation for the Obstruction of a Highway plea. After completion of probation this will entitle you to file a motion for Non-Disclosure. This will seal your charge from public viewing. I think this would be the best bet for a first time offender.


One last thing, what was wrong with the Field Sobriety Test for you? I've heard quite a few people complain about them in my lifetime, and obviously they're there to work against you, but I've had two in my lifetime and passed them no problem. It's really just a test to make sure you're coherent and can follow instuctions, rather than a test on your physical performance of what they ask you to do...unless you're just staggering all over the place of course. So if your FST was out of the norm, that would work in your favor then.

Hi norm! :wave:

SatansFuton

slightofjeff wrote:

The job thing is what frightens me a little. I'm pretty safe and steady right now, but always in the back of my mind always thought I might find a teaching job in 10 years or so.

If my record shows a misdemeanor obstruction of highway charge in 2011, do you think that would screw my chances of getting a teaching job at some undetermined point in the future?

As with anything on your record, it will depend on how forgiving or judgmental the person doing the hiring is. As for a teaching job, my brother got a DWI in college around '99 or so, graduated around '02 and has been employed as a coach/teacher ever since. As far as I know his DWI has never hindered him in getting a job (he's been at 3 different schools) and he is even trusted to drive the team bus.

I think part of it might be that he is mainly a coach. It's kind of like a fraternity and once you're in you can usually get a job no matter what. And since in Texas the Athletic Directors usually have more pull than the school principals or other administrators, even when there were concerns raised, he still got the job.

The Juggler

slightofjeff wrote:

The Juggler wrote:

slightofjeff wrote:

so with all that said.....welcome to the club ....relax people, i'm kidding. :roll:

The job thing is what frightens me a little. I'm pretty safe and steady right now, but always in the back of my mind always thought I might find a teaching job in 10 years or so.

If my record shows a misdemeanor obstruction of highway charge in 2011, do you think that would screw my chances of getting a teaching job at some undetermined point in the future?

no. i have a couple good friends from college who are teachers...both have dui's on their record (honestly, a large number of my friends have dui's. i run with a rough crowd. )

i was talking about a job that requires you to drive. like a delivery driver, working at a rental car company, outside sales etc etc etc...

The Fixer

The Juggler wrote:

no. i have a couple good friends from college who are teachers...both have dui's on their record (honestly, a large number of my friends have dui's. i run with a rough crowd. )

i was talking about a job that requires you to drive. like a delivery driver, working at a rental car company, outside sales etc etc etc...

Got my DUI right out of college, almost 11 years ago. Mine was as bad as it gets...stayed out all night, tried driving home (from Atlantic City to philly), fell asleep, and rear ended another car. Luckily no one was hurt in the accident.

I lost my liscense for 6 months, had to pay a number of fines, 30 hours of community service, mandatory AA classes, and probation for 2 years. It sucked going through all of that, but I owned up to my stupid mistake and dealt with it.

I am in outside sales and this has never hurt me as far as getting a job. I usually go through the interview process and wait until the last possible moment to tell my employer of my past. By the time I have told people I have been either hired or on the verge of getting hired. I figure if I tell them up front it just gives them a reason to eliminate me from consideration. If I go through the interview process (usually multiple interview in my profession) and get selected, then by being up front and honest with them it just reinforces my strong character to the potential employer. This might sound completely irrational to some, but it's worked for me on 3 different occassions...including my last and current job where I have a company car. I looked into having my criminal record expunged (I got an assault charge with my DUI since I was in an accident) and I have to wait 10 years from the time probation ended before I can have the expungement. My DUI was off of my driving record within 7 years. That doesn't even show up to an employer.

It sucks going through the DUI penalties. I wish I could tell you it's going to be easy, but it's not. If I were you I would take the plea deal and move on with things as quickly as possible. I think the chances of getting out of this are slim to none. Like someone ele said, law enforcement is a lot less forgiving on these occurances no wthan the were even 10 years ago.

For the record, I still drink (heavily at times). I'm just a lot more careful than I was in my early 20's. It's not worth it to put my career, family, and others at risk by being irresponsible.

Good luck dude. I'm sure you feel guilty as hell and you think the worlld is ending. That's how I felt. things will pass. Just learn from you mistake and I'm sure everything will work out for you. Everyone fucks up once or twice in their life. Just remember it's not about the mistakes you make, it's how you deal with them.

mickeyrat

slightofjeff wrote:

Jason P wrote:

Consult a lawyer. I wouldn't trust my legal outcomes to a bunch of Pearl Jam fans like me ... oh, wait ... Catch-22 :shock:

Ha ...

Well, as you can see from my post, I've consulted a lawyer (two, actually) who has laid out my options for me. I'm not really sure what to choose. I'm not really looking for advice here, per se ... just wondering if anybody else has been through something similar.

Maybe the question I have for the forum is this: If I have a conviction for misdemeanor highway obstruction on my life forever, how does that affect me? What is the practical application in day-to-day life?

If it is basically meaningless, then it seems the cheaper option is the way to go, even if it creates a record for me.

welp, here in Ohio at least after 2 years a traffic conviction drops off of your driving record. Now someone could search back farther of course and it would be there. Depending on how many points are assessed for a conviction , it shouldn't really affect anything. Other than what the judge imposes as a sentence of course.

good luck.

Kevinman

If you can get the money together try to get it off your record. I had one about 10 years ago and hired a lawyer. I never lost my license and after a year of supervision/probation it was off my record. This cost me about $5,000 for everything 10 years ago, so a lot has changed now. Hope this helps. Good luck, it was a mistake, and should be forgiven.