Criminal Defense » DWI and DUI in Louisiana Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Louisiana
Louisiana DWI and DUI Information and Statistics
It is New Orleans, after all. You’ve had a great night, and you’re on your way home. You’ve had a few drinks at the party, but you don’t think you’re drunk by a long shot. Then you see the flashing lights in the rear view mirror.
In the state of Louisiana, violations of Louisiana DWI and DUI laws are taken very seriously by responding law enforcement officers and the court system. Part of the reasoning behind the potentially severe penalties associated with convictions of violating Louisiana DWI and DUI laws stems from the consistent level of alcohol-related traffic deaths seen in Louisiana each year. According to the NHTSA, in 2007 fatal crashes involving alcohol caused 981 deaths in the state of Louisiana alone. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports that there were 11773 deaths in the United States in 2008 that were the caused by a driver with a blood alcohol level higher than .08. For this reason, along with the continued prevalence of DWI and DUI arrests across the state of Louisiana, lawmakers have instituted a rigid and progressively harsher punishment schedule for those convicted of driving under the influence in the state of Louisiana and even for those who refuse to undergo a Breathalyzer or blood sample test. In some places, a search warrant can be obtained in order to take a blood sample from a driver who has refused to submit voluntarily. As a result, it is important to have effective legal representation if you find yourself caught up in the middle of a DWI or DUI case in New Orleans, or somewhere else in Louisiana.
According to the Department of Justice, there were 1.4 million arrests for DWI or DUI throughout the United States in 2007. In correlation to the number of valid drivers in the United States, nearly 1 out of every 151 drivers in the United States will be arrested for DWI or DUI charges in the upcoming year. For DWI and DUI, Louisiana state laws have general guidelines in defining what constitutes driving while intoxicated. For starters, the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, an illegal drug, or a combination of alcohol and legal drugs is just one of the many actions that can lead to a DWI or DUI in New Orleans or elsewhere in Louisiana.
