DUI Enforcement in Culpeper County

The following is taken from an interview with a Culpeper County DUI lawyer as they discuss how DUI charges are enforced by local law enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors. To learn more call and schedule a consultation today.

Driving Under the Influence Charges in Culpeper County

DUI in Culpeper County is the combination of two elements. A person has to be operating a motor vehicle and they have to be under the influence either of alcohol or drugs or a combination of alcohol and drugs to a degree which impairs their ability to drive.

One of the ways that being under the influence can be proven is by showing that an individual has a 0.08 or higher concentration of alcohol in their blood. However if a person’s behavior demonstrates impairment to a significant degree they can still be charged with DUI even if they are at less than 0.08 so it is sometimes the case that a person may blow a 0.07 or 0.06 but nevertheless, display impaired behavior and in that case find themselves charged with a DUI. In other cases, there will be impaired behavior but no evidence of alcohol present.  In these cases, a blood draw is done to test for the presence of drugs.

How DUI Laws are Enforced

Culpeper County law enforcement officers do heavily enforce DUI laws. There is a significant law enforcement presence in Culpeper between town police, state police, and the sheriff’s department particularly on nights, weekends and holidays where individuals are frequently celebrating either at home or at bars or restaurants.  There significant training for officers on how to detect and investigate DUI as well as specialized efforts to catch impaired drivers at checkpoints which are a staple of police tactics in Culpeper.

What makes Culpeper County DUI cases unique are the personalities that are involved. The police in Culpeper County, whether it’s the sheriff’s department, the state police or the town police all have particular field sobriety tests that they like to use. They have particular approaches to handling DUI cases.

In addition to this the judges in Culpeper County each have a particular views on DUIs, whether it is on their view of particular legal issues, evidentiary issues that are specific to DUIs, or what punishments are appropriate. The reason that it’s important to have a DUI lawyer who has a significant local experience is so that these nuances can be included in the defense lawyers plan and accounted for.

DUI Checkpoints in Culpeper County

DUI checkpoints are common in Culpeper County and can be set up virtually anywhere in the county. Some of the more common major state roads where DUI checkpoints are found are on the exits from Route 29 into the Town of Culpeper, on 522 either coming into or leaving town, on Route 3 coming into or leaving town, and sometimes on Route 229 as well.

Severity of DUI Cases

DUI cases are handled seriously in Culpeper County; they are a very significant area of focus for law enforcement. This is an area where law enforcement agencies spend significant resources in training their officers how to detect DUI and how to assist in building a case for DUI. The reason for this is that DUI is a very prevalent crime that frequently results in very serious consequences including serious injury or death.