Montgomery County DUI Arrest Process

After a DUI arrest in Montgomery County, an individual is going to be taken to the police station where they will be asked to blow into a breathalyzer after their arrest. Then depending on the officer’s discretion, they can be immediately released from the police station. Because it is largely discretionary on behalf of the police officer who arrested you, it is important to remain respectful and cooperative, if you want to be released on your own recognizance.

A Montgomery County DUI attorney can help you understand the DUI arrest process and provide tailored guidance as to how you should conduct yourself in the event that you are ever arrested for a DUI. Additionally, a Montgomery County DUI lawyer can help build a defense for your case based on the details of your specific incident and explain away any extenuating circumstances that may have either resulted in you driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or resulted in the officer mistakenly believing that you were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Arrest Process Following a DUI in Montgomery County

Once an individual has been documented at the police station, the officer can have you call somebody to come pick you up or they can be hold you over until you can see a commissioner who can determine whether or not you need a bond to be released. The vast majority of DUI cases in Montgomery County where an individual is polite and cooperative with the officers will end up with them being released on their own recognizance. If an individual has a record or they’re significantly impaired or there’s any kind of confrontation with law enforcement, then that individual will be held over to see a commissioner. The commissioner will see them usually within 12 hours. They’ll determine whether or not they can be released or whether to require an individual to post a bond in order to be released.

Refusing a BAC Test

The penalty for a refusal for a BAC test in Montgomery County for a first offense is a 270-day hard suspension of driving privilege or one year participation in the ignition interlock program. For a second refusal, the penalty is one year suspension with no driving privilege or ignition interlock. Oftentimes, it may be better to submit to the BAC test, depending on the consequences, however a Montgomery County DUI lawyer can explain the circumstances and guide you in how to conduct yourself in a situation such as this.

Contacting a DUI Lawyer in Montgomery County

It is important to contact a DUI attorney as quickly as possible. There’s a 10‑day window that we discussed earlier to request an administrative hearing. Additionally, the sooner that an attorney can get in on the case, the sooner they can get discovery, the sooner they can start preparing a defense. There are also some things that you should do as an individual implicated in a DUI case that your attorney is going to tell you about and the sooner that you start doing those, specifically alcohol treatment, the better it looks for your case.