 WARNING!
If you have been arrested for New Hampshire DUI, and
refused to take a
breath, blood or urine test after
being arrested for DUI / DWI in New Hampshire, or if
the results of your test were .08% blood alcohol or
above, your license will be suspended 30 days after
the arrest unless you or your attorney take
appropriate action to demand an administrative
hearing within 30 calendar days after arrest. For a
first time refusal or breath test failure, your
license will be suspended for 180 days without this
hearing. It is CRITICAL that you
contact a New
Hampshire DUI defense attorney immediately for a FREE consultation.
 New Hampshire DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI
(driving while intoxicated) laws are charged in
two different ways. The first is the common-law drunk
driving case, where one is arrested for driving while
under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a
combination of the two. The prosecutor will use
evidence of driving pattern, physical appearance, and
field sobriety test performance as circumstantial
evidence to show impairment at the time of driving to
seek a New Hampshire DUI conviction.
top
New Hampshire DUI arrests and prosecutions can also
be based on New Hampshire's "per se" DUI law. This DUI
law cares nothing about whether or not the suspect
exhibits any sign of impairment or not; it is based
purely on body chemistry. Was the driver above a
.08% BAC
(blood or breath alcohol level) at the time they
were behind the wheel? As a qualified New Hampshire
DUI defense lawyer will be able to tell you, a later
stationhouse
breath or blood test will only tell you
what the person's BAC was at the time of testing, NOT
at the time of driving. It is merely circumstantial
evidence of the alcohol level at the time of driving,
which is very important in the hands of a New
Hampshire DUI defense attorney.
New Hampshire DUI convictions are reported to other
states through the
Interstate Driver's License
Compact. This means that if you are from another
state, and convicted of drunk driving in New
Hampshire, your home state can (and probably will)
learn of the conviction and
impose license
consequences upon you there. This is yet one more
reason why it is critically important to
contact a New
Hampshire drunk driving defense lawyer right away if
you have been stopped for suspicion of New Hampshire
DUI.
Curiously, those charged with a first-offense DUI
in New Hampshire do NOT have the right to a jury
trial. Those charged with an aggravated first-offense
DUI, or a multiple-offense DUI, do have the right to a
jury trial.
top
|
|
top
For those arrested
for DUI after January 1, 2005, there are enhanced punishments.
For an aggravated DWI conviction, you
must now complete a seven-day residential treatment
program at the State's Multiple DWI Offender Detention
Center in Laconia; that sentence must be served within
24 days of your conviction and follows a minimum of
three days in the County House of Correction.
For a 2nd offense DWI, you are sentenced to complete a
one-week residential treatment program at the State's
Multiple DWI Offender Detention Center in Laconia;
that sentence must be served within 24 days of your
conviction and follows a minimum of three days in the
County House of Correction. Those with more than one
previous conviction may be sentenced to a residential
treatment program of up to 28 days.
For either a second offense or an aggravated DWI, you
must begin to follow any treatment recommendations
from your seven-day treatment program within 60 days
after completion of the program.
top
A more serious charge of aggravated DWI may be brought
against you if certain specified circumstances exist,
the most common of which is if a chemical test shows
an alcohol concentration of 0.16% or more; you also
may be charged with aggravated DWI if you were in
excess of thirty miles an hour over the speed limit or
attempted to flee or elude the police. Aggravated DWI
is a criminal offense, a class A misdemeanor, unless
you are charged with a more serious felony for having
caused serious bodily injury (including injury to
yourself) while under the influence of alcohol or
drugs. If convicted of an aggravated DWI, you must be
fined between $500.00 and $2000.00, plus mandatory
penalty assessment of 20% of the amount of your fine.
You will be sentenced to a minimum of three days in
the County House of Correction, up to a maximum of one
year, immediately followed by seven days in the
Multiple DWI Intervention Detention Center (MOP), In
addition, you will receive a license loss of between
one and two years. Beginning January 1, 2004, the
minimum license that the Court may impose is eighteen
months, but six months of that period may be suspended
by the Court if you enter into a mandatory alcohol
treatment program within forty-five days of the date
of your conviction; your failure to enter the program
in a timely fashion will prevent the court and the
Department of Safety from restoring your license
sooner than eighteen months unless you can demonstrate
extenuating circumstances to the division of health
and human services. Prior to restoration, you must
have completed the Multiple Offender Program; you are
also required to begin following any treatment
recommendations within 60 days of the date you
complete the program.
top
DWI second, or subsequent offense, is a crime, a Class
A misdemeanor, and the State must prove that you have
been convicted of DWI within ten years of the offense.
It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three days
in the County House of Correction, with up to a year's
imprisonment in the discretion of the Judge,
immediately followed by seven days in the New
Hampshire Multiple DWI Offender Intervention Detention
Center, an in-patient alcohol treatment and
incarceration facility located in Laconia, N. H. DWI,
2nd offense also carries a three-year license loss,
both maximum and minimum, a minimum fine of $500.00,
up to a maximum of $2,000.00, plus a 20% penalty
assessment. If you are convicted of a second-offense
DWI that occurred within two years of the date of your
first conviction, you face a minimum mandatory jail
sentence of thirty days, immediately followed by seven
days in the Multiple Offender Program. If you have two
or more prior DWI convictions, you also face higher
mandatory minimum penalties, including thirty days in
jail and attendance at a residential alcohol treatment
program of up to 28 days, and an even longer license
loss. Fourth-time DWI offenders face a felony
conviction and a possible seven years in State Prison.
Obviously, New Hampshire DUI punishment is severe,
making it important to consult with a skilled New
Hampshire drunk driving defense lawyer as quickly as
possible following an arrest for suspicion of DUI. |
