When can a defendan’ts release be revoked on a DUI case

Once a DUI criminal case starts it’s important for the accused to understand what they must do to ensure they stay in compliance with all Court orders and stay out of jail. One such order and way to stay out of jail is to obey any conditions of release that get set at the DUI arraignment. These conditions of release are the conditions a Judge sets when releasing someone on their own recognizance. In other words the Judge says I will not hold in you in custody while the case is pending as long as you follow these instructions.

Typically these conditions include the following in a DUI case: no drinking and driving, no driving without a valid license and insurance, no new criminal law violations, come to court, and in some cases completely abstain from alcohol and or non-prescribed drugs. So what happens if the accused doesn’t follow these orders. They face the Judge revoking release and setting bail conditions, or increasing the conditions of release when they are not followed.

Here are the two most common examples I see as a DUI Attorney of someone not following a Judge’s order of release.

Drinking and driving has to be number one on this list. This includes the obvious. Someone has a pending DUI but then they get arrested for a subsequent DUI. If this happens then that individual is facing some serious consequences from a Judge. Including but not limited to a significant increase in bail, ignition interlock requirements, or in some cases home detention or daily breath testing to ensure sobriety. This is not good when this happens and completely changes everything in terms of negotiating and possibly resolving the first DUI case.

The other way someone violates this condition is if they get caught drinking alcohol and attempting to drive. This happens when one of the original conditions of release included an ignition interlock device requirement. The monthly results usually get sent to the Court and if someone attempts to drive after drinking and the IID detects alcohol the Court will find out. Now there are ways this can be challenged at a bail revocation hearing, although that is for another blog post.

The second most common example is when people drive without a valid license and insurance. This is actually pretty common in a DUI case because a driver’s license can be suspended before the criminal case is adjudicated. The driver may not be aware of this and all of a sudden they are driving with a suspended license. If they get pulled over and cited, guess what. The Court will find out about it and they will be in the same boat as the individual who chose to drink and drive. Although this is not as serious as someone getting a subsequent DUI it still jeopardizes the pending DUI and now the individual is most likely facing a subsequent criminal charge of driving while license suspended.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle, WA. He is rated a 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com, a lawyer rating service. Additionally he has been repeatedly named one of the best Seattle DUI Attorneys by both the Seattle Met Magazine, and the Super Lawyers Magazine.