Shreveport DWI/DUI Attorneys

Driving While Intoxicated in Louisiana

In Louisiana, it is against the law to operate a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Known as DWI (or, unofficially, “DUI”), the statute applies to the operation of any motor vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, aircraft, watercraft, and other means of conveyance. Those found guilty of DWI face serious criminal and administrative penalties, including steep fines, possible jail time, and mandatory driver’s license suspension.

If you have been arrested or charged with driving while intoxicated in Louisiana, you have the option of fighting your charges and seeking reduced penalties or full dismissal of your case. It is extremely important that you contact an experienced criminal defense attorney, like those at The Hall Law Firm. Our Shreveport DWI attorneys are prepared to aggressively advocate for you and your rights. In all cases, we tirelessly seek the best possible outcomes for our clients.

Louisiana State law bans the operation of a motor vehicle when an individual:

• Is “under the influence” of alcohol or drugs, including Schedule I, II, III, IV, and V drugs (known as “controlled dangerous substances”), as well as other drugs not considered controlled dangerous substances, including some over-the-counter medications
• Has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or greater if the driver is 21 years old or older, a BAC of 0.02% or greater if the driver is under the age of 21, or a BAC of 0.04% if the driver is a commercial driver’s license holder

For all intents and purposes, there is no difference between “driving while intoxicated” and “driving under the influence” in Louisiana—these are the same crime, as defined above. A person can be pulled over and charged with DWI regardless of their BAC, as the law allows police officers to arrest those found to be “under the influence” of alcohol and/or drugs if the officer has reason to believe the individual’s driving abilities are impaired.

If you are convicted of DWI in Louisiana, you face serious criminal penalties, as well as administrative consequences that may affect everything from your personal freedom to your finances to your ability to drive yourself to work, school, and elsewhere.

Penalties for a first-time DWI in Louisiana include:

• Fines ranging from $300 to $1,000
• 10 days to 6 months in jail
• Mandatory community service
• Up to 2 years of probation
• Participation in court-approved substance abuse and driver improvement programs
• Installation of an ignition interlock device (IID) for 12 months if BAC was over 0.20%

For a second offense, a convicted offender may face:

• Fines ranging from $750 to $1,000
• 30 days to 6 months in jail
• Mandatory 240 hours of community service
• Up to 6 months of probation with mandatory 48 hours in jail
• Participation in court-approved substance abuse and driver improvement programs
• Installation of an IID for up to 3 years if BAC was over 0.20%

The exact penalties you may face depend on several factors, including whether you have a past DWI conviction (or multiple past DWI convictions), whether you were involved in an accident while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and whether you had any passengers in the vehicle and, if so, the ages of those passengers. For example, penalties are enhanced when an individual is convicted of DWI and there was a child under the age of 13 in the vehicle.

In Louisiana, each subsequent DWI conviction has increased penalties up to DWI 4, which carries up to 30 years imprisonment among other serious criminal and administrative penalties. It is important to note that a “past conviction” may not only apply to actual driving while intoxicated convictions; other criminal offenses may constitute past convictions and warrant enhanced penalties.

In Louisiana, prior convictions include a regular DWI plus:

• Vehicular homicide
• Third-degree feticide
• Vehicular negligent injury
• First-degree vehicular negligent injury

The penalty for DWI goes up with each conviction within a 10-year period. In other words, the DWI enhances each subsequent DWI. The 10-year period excludes any time awaiting trial, on probation, on parole, or time spent incarcerated.

If you’ve been arrested and/or charged with DWI in Louisiana, you may feel as though there is nothing you can do to fight your charges, particularly if the arresting officer conducted a field sobriety test, breathalyzer test, or urine/blood analysis. However, these tests do not always provide airtight evidence. In fact, the results of these tests are often flawed. In some cases, police officers do not conduct them properly, leading to refutable or unusable evidence.

In short, there are many reasons to fight a DWI.

Depending on the specific details of your situation, you could be looking at serious fines, loss of your driving privileges, and even jail time. All of this can significantly impact your financial security, reputation, and freedom.

At The Hall Law Firm, we understand what is at stake, and we are prepared to fight for you. Our Shreveport DWI attorneys have helped numerous people in situations like yours; we know how to draw on our decades of experience with the criminal justice system to develop an innovative and entirely personalized legal strategy for your case. Most importantly, we are prepared to fight tirelessly for you and your rights as we help you seek the best possible outcome.