It’s critical to understand how blood alcohol concentration (BAC) affects your criminal case. If your BAC is at a certain level, you could face harsher punishments if convicted of driving under the influence. Our Manassas DUI/DWI lawyers at The Wilson Law Firm understand the legal implications of how your BAC level impacts your DUI case and have effective defense strategies we may use to challenge the results to help you achieve the best outcome in your criminal case.
Understanding What BAC Levels Are in Virginia DUI Cases
Your blood alcohol content is the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream and is used to determine how intoxicated you are. The level can range from 0 to over 20%, depending on the number of alcoholic drinks consumed. How the alcohol affected your BAC level is determined by many factors, such as gender, weight, number of alcoholic beverages consumed, and how quickly you drank them.
How BAC Level Impacts DUI Charges
If the police pull you over for driving when intoxicated, they may administer a roadside breathalyzer test and a breath, blood, or urine test at the police station after they have arrested you. Your BAC level directly impacts the charges you face and the potential punishments imposed by a judge if you’re convicted.
Under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, you could be found guilty of DUI if your BAC is at the following levels:
- BAC of 0.02%. If you’re under 21 and have a BAC of 0.02 percent or higher, you can be charged with DUI under Virginia’s “zero tolerance” law.
- BAC of 0.04%. You may be found guilty of drunk driving if you’re a commercial driver and your BAC level is 0.04 percent or higher.
- BAC of 0.08%. If you’re 21 or older and have a BAC level of 0.08 percent or higher, you would be considered intoxicated and in violation of our drunk driving laws.
How Your BAC Level Affects Sentencing in a DUI Conviction
Your BAC level can also affect the punishments you face if you plead guilty to or are convicted of DUI in Virginia. This is true even if this is your first drunk driving offense. Here are the potential DUI penalties.
BAC Level of 0.08%
If this is your first offense and your BAC level is between 0.08% and 0.14%, the judge might issue:
- Jail time. You could be sentenced to up to one year in jail, but the judge has the discretion to suspend your jail sentence.
- Fines. You may have to pay between $500 and $2,500.
- Probation. The judge could sentence you to probation for a certain amount of time and require you to take specific actions, such as completing an alcohol abuse program.
- Driver’s license suspension. Another consequence is a one-year suspension of your driver’s license. However, our DUI lawyers at the Wilson Law Firm may be able to help you get a restricted license.
- VASAP enrollment. You could be required to complete the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.
BAC Level Between 0.15% and 0.20%
At these levels, you’ll face all of the penalties for a first-time DUI listed above. In addition, you’ll have to serve a mandatory minimum of five days in jail.
BAC Level of 0.20% or Higher
If your BAC level falls in this range when you’re arrested, the judge would sentence you to all the penalties for a first-offense DUI and a mandatory minimum 10-day jail term.
How Our DUI Lawyers Can Challenge Your BAC Levels
At the Wilson Law Firm, we have decades of successfully defending clients charged with DUI. We know you could have strong defenses to your charges—even if you think you’re guilty. Here are a few ways our DUI lawyers may challenge your BAC levels:
- Test improperly performed. We may be able to demonstrate that the police officer didn’t follow the correct procedures when administering your breathalyzer, blood, or urine tests or analyzing the test results.
- Evidence improperly collected. If law enforcement didn’t have constitutional grounds to stop you or violated your rights in other ways, our attorneys may file a motion to suppress improperly collected evidence, including your BAC test results, and to dismiss your charges.
- Unmaintained equipment. If the device used to test your BAC level was improperly maintained, it may have affected your test results and be grounds to challenge them.
- Rising BAC. Your BAC can continue to rise long after you last consumed alcohol. If your BAC level was below 0.08% when you took a roadside breathalyzer test, near or at 0.08% at the police station, or 0.15% or higher, we may be able to use the rising BAC defense to argue that you weren’t intoxicated when stopped for DUI.