Criminal Defense | Blogs by Steven Titus & Associates, P.C.
How Could a DUI Impact Your Career?
In recent years, penalties for DUI have become stiffer across the nation. If you are convicted, you could be facing jail time, fines, and other criminal penalties, plus suspension of your driver’s license. In addition to these civil and criminal punishments, a DUI on your record could significantly impact your future employment opportunities, and even your current job.
Why Police Are Cracking Down Hard on Fentanyl
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid pain medication that is similar to morphine. It is typically used to treat patients who experience severe pain, such as after surgery. Fentanyl is a prescription drug with a high potential for abuse and addiction. When appropriately used, fentanyl can be a safe and effective pain medication. However, because it is so potent, it is also easy to abuse and overdose. Fentanyl is often sold illegally on the street as a white powder or as fake pills. It is also sometimes mixed with heroin to increase its potency. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous, and even a tiny amount can be deadly.
How Child Sex Crime Allegations Affect Lives
It’s natural to want to protect people from harm, especially children. And society is very scornful of people accused of any type of sexual abuse because it’s a horrible violation of another person.
Children are so vulnerable, and a sexual assault is also an attack on their innocence. People who are accused of sex crimes against children are often tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, even if they turn out to be innocent.
Appealing a Driver’s License Suspension in Wyoming
Following a DUI arrest, you only have 20 days to request a hearing to prevent the suspension of your license. Even if your case is dismissed, you still need to attend an administrative hearing to retain your driving privileges.
A DUI conviction will result in a driver’s license suspension of at least 90 days. Following a suspension, a driver must attend an administrative hearing to get their license reinstated.
What Is Wyoming’s DUI “Washout Period?”
A washout period, also known as a “lookback period,” is the amount of time after a previous conviction that a later charge can be modified by. In Wyoming, the washout period for drunk driving is 10 years. That means if you are convicted of a DUI, any previous drunk driving convictions within the last ten years will result in increased penalties.
Do You Have to Take a Field Sobriety Test in Wyoming?
When facing a DUI charge in Wyoming, a critical piece of evidence is how you perform on the Field Sobriety Test (FST). The test helps the police officer to determine if you are physically or mentally impaired by alcohol or drugs.
FSTs are controversial because they are not always accurate. With the help of an experienced Wyoming DUI lawyer, it is sometimes possible to have your FST performance excluded at trial.
Challenging a DUI Breath Test in Wyoming
If you are charged with drunk driving in Wyoming, you are at risk of losing your right to drive. Under Wyoming’s implied consent laws, when driving a motor vehicle, you are considered to have given your consent for breath, blood, or urine testing. When drunk driving is suspected, a breath test is performed, and in some cases, blood testing.
What to Do When You’re Accused of Domestic Violence
False accusations of domestic violence happen every day. People falsely accuse domestic partners for several reasons, such as anger and revenge, or to get the upper hand in divorce proceedings or a child custody battle. If you are facing accusations of domestic violence, it is important to act quickly to get a skilled criminal defense attorney in your corner. Effective legal representation early in the case can make a significant difference in the outcome.
How Do Successive DUIs Stack Up in Wyoming?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls impaired driving a “major problem” in the state of Wyoming. In as recent as 2019, individuals charged with DUIs made up 27.78% of all arrests across the state, with an average reported blood alcohol content of 0.16%. These DUI arrests primarily affected those in the 26-30 year-old age range. The fatality rate associated with DUIs in Wyoming was “significantly higher” than the national average in 2017 as well. When you are arrested for a DUI in Wyoming, this is the backdrop of what you’re up against.
Self-Defense and Reasonable Force in Wyoming
In Wyoming, self-defense is legally defined as “reasonable defensive force that is necessary to prevent injury or loss.” According to this standard, there are times when a defendant can use self-defense to avoid prosecution in cases of assault or battery, but this defense is strictly limited, and defendants should not think of self-defense as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card.
Your FREE Case Strategy Session
On All Injury and Criminal Cases
Contact our office right now to speak to
someone who wants to help you.