WHATCOM COUNTY DUI ATTORNEY

Whatcom County District Court is the largest court house complex north of Snohomish County.  There are two District Court Judges, Judge Grant and Judge Elich and one Court Commission, Commissioner Parise. Whatcom County District Court is located on the fourth floor of the courthouse and your appearance will likely be shortly after your release from custody or very soon thereafter. It is critical to appear for every court date on time and be well prepared.

Your driving privilege is at risk the moment the officer contacts you.  In most instances (unless there is a blood draw and no refusal of the breath test) your license will be suspended 30 days following your arrest for DUI. This suspension will be for at least 90 days and up to one-year and beyond, for a first time offense.  To give yourself every opportunity to save your driving privilege you must contest this suspension but filing a DUI Request for Hearing within 7 days of your DUI arrest.

The penalties for driving under the influence are severe. For a first time offender, if convicted of DUI in Whatcom County, the minimum penalties include 1-day of jail (24 hours), 90 day license suspension, 1-year ignition interlock device, $991 fine and in Whatcom County, 5 years of probation with the first 2 years supervised (at a cost of $3300). And, these are minimum penalties! It is very important to have an experience advocate on your side, call our Whatcom County DUI lawyers today for a free consultation.

Probation is very popular in Whatcom County. DUI Attorneys are well aware of this fact and will likely advise you of the same information time and time again, avoid probation if possible and if not possible, keep your probation officer happy! If your case is particularly bad (high BAC, accident, children in car) or if you have a prior DUI arrest, you will be placed on probation immediately after your DUI arraignment in Whatcom County. Be aware that you will be required to submit to random UA (urinalysis) testing so do not consume alcohol or marijuana while on probation in Whatcom County.

If convicted of a DUI or should you successfully enter into a deferred prosecution, you will be required to install and maintain an ignition interlock device. Additionally, if you have a prior DUI arrest you can expect the Whatcom County Judge to order you to install the ignition interlock within 5-days of your first court appearance. The rules for use and removal of this device are changing annually and violations are deemed very serious (and serious penalties will occur).  Please talk to our Whatcom County DUI lawyers and we can talk you through the process to avoid any future problems.

In Whatcom County, the great majority of those arrest for DUI are booked into the Whatcom County Jail. This is not the "law" but a local policy that the prosecutor's office and local law enforcement firmly believe in. The majority of those arrested for DUI spend about 12 hours in custody however, if there is no available Judge or if the arrested DUI driver is from out of county, the stay in jail will be longer. It is probable that Bail will be permitted and if so, posting bail will release the defendant from custody. The easiest way to be released from jail is to contact a Bellingham bail bond company.