Dallas DWI Lawyer Blog

By SHEILA BURKE

Under Tennessee law, a drug user, wife beater and burglar can eventually clear their criminal history.  But, an individual convicted of driving under the influence can’t!

All but DUI offenders are eligible to have their criminal records wiped clean. Such harsh terms normally apply only to the most violent perpetrators, such as murderers and sexual predators.

Nashville attorney Doug Thurman is among several defense lawyers who say DUI arrests stay on a person’s record all because of a law that is politically motivated and needs to be changed.

“A DUI is going to be held against you for the rest of your life,” Thurman said.

He says it’s not right that felons are allowed to get a chance at having their records wiped clean when first-time DUI offenders, who’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor charge, can’t.

He says “I just think that’s a little too much for somebody who’s never been in trouble and makes one mistake.”

“They could have just as easily committed homicide,” Laura Dial, executive director of MADD of Tennessee, said of the first-time DUI offenders. “It’s vehicular homicide, which is murder. So, they got lucky when they decided to drive drunk and they didn’t kill someone and then become convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault.”

Individuals arrested on DUI charges face a hostile political climate, another defense attorney said.

“I think DUI offenders are the whipping children of the legislature,” Nashville attorney Patrick Frogge said. “They’re easy targets and there’s an effective lobbying organization that keeps DUIs on the legislature’s agenda.”

He said it makes no sense that DUIs are lumped in with crimes that are considered too serious to be erased from the record. The most serious violent felonies, along with most sex crimes, and DUI can’t be expunged from a criminal record, he said.

In most cases, a DUI charge has to be dismissed or a judge or a jury has to acquit the defendant in order for the arrest to be expunged from the record. Charges are also eligible to be expunged if the case is dismissed.

Even if a drunken driving defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge, such as reckless driving, the DUI arrest will be on his record, lawyers say.

Metro Jail records show that DUI is the single most common charge for which people are arrested once and never get booked again into the jail.

Thurman said that figure makes perfect sense because most people who get arrested for a first-time DUI are normally good citizens. Many, he said, are people who have a drink or two after work and get pulled over for driving a few miles over the speed limit.

The lesson to be learned here is that the State’s are treating DWI crimes for their potential of harm rather than what actually occurs.  If you are arrested for a DWI offense the legislature is not going to cut you any breaks.

So if you need a Dallas Texas DWI Attorney who knows the system and how to fight for your rights contact Mark T. Lassiter.