DUI offenders rarely make it to trial unless the offense is connected to injuries or fatalities. A defendant who is charged with a DUI usually pleads out of court. A DUI plea deal “sweetens the pot” in exchange for the guilty plea. A DUI plea deal can include the lessening of the charge, a non-ad...

Mississippi law always proves to break the mold when it comes to alcohol-related laws. Traditionally, the legal drinking age is 21 years old. The laws in many states on this issue are straightforward that individuals under the age of 21 cannot consume beverages with a stated small percentage of a...

In January of 2018, a Vietnam veteran suffered damages to his home after a drunk driver ran into it with his vehicle. The drunk driver was subsequently charged with his fourth DUI offense in Rankin County, Mississippi. Individuals who are convicted of a fourth DUI face stiffer sentences. A fourth...

When people think about DUI, they usually think about driving under the influence of alcohol. They seldom think about driving under the influence of other prohibited drugs like marijuana, cocaine, or methamphetamines. Alcohol inebriation is easily identifiable when drivers have difficulty staying...

When it comes to DUI defenses, simply telling the judge that you were not intoxicated will not suffice. In an age of breathalyzers and field sobriety testing, it is rather difficult for defendants to attack a legal finding of intoxication. There is usually a chemical test or a field sobriety test...

An appeal of a DUI conviction may be the right option for you depending on the circumstances of your individual case. Most DUI defendants who are found guilty accept plea deals in exchange for a lesser charge or a lesser penalty. A defendant may agree to enter a rehabilitative program or probatio...

When drivers are arrested under suspicion of DUI in Mississippi, police officers have the authority to administer chemical tests to determine whether a crime is being committed. In Mississippi, a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08% or above qualifies as a DUI offense. Mississippi permits breath,...

The Tragic Case of a DUI Fatality in Mississippi On November 21, 2017, local news station WREG reported on a DUI case that occured in Horn Lake Mississippi in 2016. The story compels a close look at Mississippis first offender DUI law and its legal as well as real-life implications. On October...

Open Container Laws Across the Country Open container laws are state laws that prohibit the presence of an open container of alcohol in an individuals car without regard to whether the individual is consuming it. In 1998, the federal government passed an act incentivizing states to pass open al...

Getting a DUI charge is a stressful ordeal. Depending the severity of the charge, a subsequent DUI conviction can become the source of many serious consequences. A DUI charge or conviction can involve jail time as well as a lengthy, costly court process. It can also produce long-term, sometimes i...

What is a Parked Car DUI? A parked car DUI offense can be charged when a defendant is found legally intoxicated while behind the wheel of a motionless or parked vehicle. The situations that can lead to this type of charge presents complexities in certain jurisdictions where the difference betwee...

Expungement is a hot topic in the area of criminal law as many people are misinformed about its definition and when it applies. For example, contrary to popular belief, expungements are not available for charges and arrests. They only come into play when an individual is found guilty and convicte...

Drunk driving is a serious crime with serious consequences. In addition to paying the legal penalties, a DUI conviction can continue to haunt you for years after the momentary indiscretion. The most collateral damage often takes the form of the offenders career. Many are able to survive a DUI co...

The video of a nurse being arrested after refusing to allow a police officer to collect a blood sample from an unconscious patient has been making the rounds on social media and news outlets recently. In the viral video, Utah nurse Alex Wubbels explains to Officer Jeff Payne that she could not al...

The Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP) is a statewide, mandatory DUI intervention program. Mississippi state law requires anyone convicted of a first offense DUI attend MASEP or another approved program within six months of adjudication. The goal of the Mississippi Alcohol Safet...

Self-driving cars, also called driverless or autonomous cars, are vehicles that can sense their surroundings and navigate without human input. Although no completely driverless cars are allowed on the roads yet, the technology is quickly being developed. Arguably the biggest potential benefit to ...

If you have just been charged with drunk driving in Mississippi, you may be feeling apprehensive or even scared. You might not know what to expect or what to do next, especially if this is the first blemish on your criminal record. A DUI is a serious offense, and Mississippi has some of the tough...

Sobriety checkpoints (also known as DUI checkpoints, mobile checkpoints, or roadblocks) refer to temporary and fluctuating locations intended to keep drunk drivers off the roads. Police set up a roadblock, stopping every car that passes through the checkpoint to screen for suspicious drivers. If ...

The penalties in Mississippi for DUI are tough. If you have been arrested in Mississippi for being pulled over and found under the influence of alcohol, you need to fight the charges that are pending against you. To do this, you should know what the prosecution must prove in your Mississippi DUI ...

Facing a DUI charge in Mississippi can be scary. In addition to the fear you are experiencing just facing the charge in court, you may also be worried about its effects on your job and any other consequences that may come along with a DUI conviction. Thus, it is important that you secure an exper...

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) wants all individuals who are convicted of a DUI in Mississippi and had a child in the vehicle at the time of the DUI to suffer serious felony consequences for their actions. MADD's recommendation is that, if a child under the age of 16 was in the vehicle at t...

If you are driving a vehicle with a court-ordered ignition interlock device in it, chances are either you or the person to whom the vehicle is registered has been charged with a DUI in Mississippi. Even if you were not the one who was convicted, you will need to breathe into the ignition interloc...

DUI penalties may seem harsh, but they are harsh for a reason. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Mississippi has decreased drunk driving incidents by 2,800 since the more strict interlock ignition laws have been put into place. This proves that these devices, and more importantly...

Back in 2014, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) worked hard to get HB 412 passed and change Mississippi Code §63-11-30 to make penalties for Mississippi drunk drivers harsher. Then, two years later, HB 1366 was passed to make penalties even harsher. Essentially, the main goals of the law chang...

Mothers Against Drunk Driving recently published its 2016 MADD Report to the Nation. In it, they looked at several different factors to assess how each state treats DUI, including ignition interlocks, sobriety checkpoints, administrative license revocation, child endangerment, and refusals, and t...