Over the St. Patrick's Day Holiday weekend, the Rhode Island State Police arrested and charged twelve individuals with Driving Under the Influence (RI DUI First Offense).  Those arrests spanned the State, from Richmond to Providence.  However, the vast majority of the arrests were made in Newport County near the timing of the Saturday St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Of the twelve arrests, all were charged with a Rhode Island first offense DUI, meaning that none of the drivers involved had been convicted of a DUI charge, in Rhode Island or elsewhere, within the preceding five years.  A first offense DUI conviction in Rhode Island can carry severe consequences including significant loss of your drivers license, possible incarceration, drunk driving school, substance abuse treatment, and hefty fines and costs.  Your best defense to a first offense DUI charge in Rhode Island is to be represented by an experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled Rhode Island DUI Defense Attorney.  Attorney Matthew Marin has the experience and skill you need to fight your first offense DUI charge.

In five cases, the individuals arrested by the Rhode Island State Police refused to submit to a chemical test.  Refusal to submit to a chemical test is a separate violation and charged in addition to being charged with a first offense DUI.   A charge of refusal to submit to a chemical test is a traffic violation, not a criminal offense.  However, a chemical test refusal charge carries consequences that are, in some cases, significantly more severe than a first offense DUI charge.  First, if you refuse to submit to a chemical test in Rhode Island your drivers license will (typically) be preliminarily suspended.  This means that the Court will suspend your drivers license at the beginning of the case, before you have been found guilty of any wrongdoing.  Second, a chemical test refusal charge carries with it a mandatory minimum license suspension of six months if you are convicted, and the suspension for a first offense can be as long as one year.  This six month mandatory minimum is double the three month mandatory minimum which is available to those charged with a first offense DUI in Rhode Island.

Give us a call 24/7 to discuss your Rhode Island First Offense DUI Charge or Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test Charge today.  At the Law Offices of Matthew T. Marin, Esquire, Inc. we offer a preliminary confidential, no fee consultation where we can sit and discuss your case, outline a defense strategy to put you in the best possible position, and offer you a reasonable price for our services.  We are also available by email at [email protected] or you can fill out the Contact Form on our Website located at https://www.matthewtmarin.com/rhode-island-dui-lawyer.