The following is taken from an interview with a Fairfax DUI lawyer discussing DUI charges in Fairfax and how they are enforced by local law enforcement officers. For information regarding your case, call and schedule a consultation with an attorney today.
In Fairfax County, DUI laws are heavily enforced by police officers and as a result, there are hundreds of people arrested for DUI every month in Fairfax. It’s a large jurisdiction and police are always on the look-out for people driving under the influence of alcohol and are not afraid to make arrests. Additionally, the local law enforcement officers are experienced in making these arrests and are often experienced in testifying with success rates of conviction at trial as well.
DUI checkpoints are also prevalent in Fairfax, however, police have certain things they have to do before conducting a checkpoint.
One of those is publishing it to the media beforehand. They also must use an indiscriminate collection of drivers through tests or else the checkpoint could be deemed invalid. But checkpoints are used and law enforcement does make arrests at checkpoints.
Fairfax has numerous major state roads that go through it. I-95 goes through Fairfax in some parts as does route 50, route 66, and route 29. All of these are major roads that go through Fairfax, which inevitably means DUI charges are more common than in some other places.
DUI cases are handled very seriously in Fairfax by prosecutors and judges alike. Police take them seriously and prosecutors are unlikely to dismiss charges against someone charged with DUI unless there are major problems with their case.
If you’re charged with DUI in Fairfax, you can expect that the prosecutors are going to want to keep the charge as a DUI. Additionally, judges will treat theses charges seriously and punish them harshly.
Yes, they are an area of focus for law enforcement officers because DUI offenses often lead to serious accidents involving death, serious injury, or major property damage. It is also a prevalent offense, as there are numerous people driving around intoxicated on a Friday and Saturday nights.
Police definitely enforce it heavily because it is so dangerous. Additionally, members of the community put pressure on police to enforce this vigorously. There are groups such us Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who’s sole purpose is to stomp out drunk driving, and so they do put pressure on police to enforce it heavily. The police try to respond to the community concerns, to the public safety concern and try to adjust those issues by making a lot of arrest and not giving breaks. As a result, DUI cases are always treated with utmost seriousness in Fairfax
There’s nothing specifically unique to Fairfax law other than how seriously they take DUI charges. They’re unlikely to reduce or breakdown the charge and you should expect that you’re probably to be going to trial or convicted of that offense if you’re not able to obtain an acquittal.