Scott Weymouth Lawrence’s Answers

In Washington, you can be charged with DUI up to two years after the date of the incident. A citation is not necessary to initiate a charge. In most jurisdictions, the police forward the police reports to the prosecutor for review. The prosecutor then decides whether or not to charge a crime. This process can take many months. On rare occasion charges are filed a year, or more, later (I have seen a DUI filed as late as 23 months after the incident). The prosecutor will probably not tell...

This is exactly the reason that I and my fellow colleagues on this site continual warn against pleading guilty for criminal offenses, ESPECIALLY DUI. You can never remove a DUI conviction from your record AND it can affect your ability to do many things for the rest of your life.

In a DUI case, the officer can ask for a blood sample instead of a breath sample when there is: (1) "Reasonable grounds" to believe you are driving under the influence of drugs; (2) You are in the hospital being treated for injuries; (3) The is probable cause for Vehicular Assault or Vehicular Manslaughter; or (4) If you have been convicted of certain drug or alcohol-related felony driving offenses. If you refuse a lawful request for a blood test, the officer has the option of...

I think you'll find that public defenders are rarely incompetent. More often they just have way too many cases to give each case the individual attention it deserves. It is usually not a problem to switch attorneys, especially fairly early on in the case. The only time I've seen judges deny a substitution of counsel is if they feel that you're using it as a delay tactic, to play games or at trial after all the witnesses are present. On the other hand, if you can afford an attorney why...

Most lost schools in the Washington State Bar Association require you to disclose any and all arrests. This is probably not something that will keep you out of law school or from becoming a lawyer. However, If you lie on your application or leave things out You probably will have no chance of getting accepted into the bar. Be truthful And be ready to answer questions about the situation. Scott. Lawrence Law Office of Scott Lawrence Sent from my Motorola Smartphone on the Now Network...

It seems to me that you're a little confused about what happened in court. The judge would not have dismissed your DUI case. He may have been pay imposed jail time and closed the file. You have still been convicted and that has not changed. The requirements for the Department of Licensing are separate from the court requirements. DOL requires that you complete an evaluation and file that with their agency before you can be reinstated. The fact that you no longer have any obligation to do...

There are a number of time limits that are relevant when you're charged with a crime: statute of limitations, speedy trial and jurisdiction. The statute of limitations has to do with how much time can elapse between the incident and when charges are filed. For DUI, that is two years. It sounds like charges were filed within the two-year period. Speedy trial, otherwise known as time for trial rights, start to elapse when you are arraigned on a criminal charge. Speedy trial governs how...

The court can retain jurisdiction on a DUI case for up to five years from the date of conviction. Any time spent in warrant status would not count towards that time. If no warrants were ever issued the case should have been closed in 2011. If warrants were issued it could be longer. If there is currently an active warrant the court retain jurisdiction for at least as long as the warrant exists (theoretically forever).

Notice of suspension is often the biggest issue in Driving While License Suspended cases. The type of notice required depends on the type of suspension. DOL does not have to prove actual notice, but only that they followed State Law and Constitutional Due Process requirements in attempting to give you noticed. If you moved and didn't notify DOL of the new address it may not matter that you did not get notice. On the other hand, DOL makes a lot of mistakes when mailing out notices. Your...

It is very unlikely that the new charge will go unnoticed by Snohomish County probation. When you're on unsupervised probation in Snohomish County they check your record every six months to make sure there are no criminal violations and they check again before they close the file. The court probably suspended jail time and fines when you were sentenced on the DUI. If you violate any of the terms of your suspended sentence, such as no criminal law violations, the court can impose any or all of...