DUI Enforcement in Norfolk

The following is taken from an interview with a Norfolk DUI lawyer as they discuss how charges of driving under the influence are enforced locally. To learn more or discuss your case, call and schedule a consultation today.

How DUI Laws are Enforced in Norfolk

In Norfolk, Virginia, DUI laws are taken very seriously and generally enforced stringently by all parties involved in the criminal process. This includes law enforcement officers who generally have a strong area of focus on DUI charges. This is largely due to the serious consequences that DUI drivers can have on the community, and the harm that they can cause.

Everybody has heard of the dangers of drunk driving and almost anybody can name somebody who has been affected by a drunk driver. Due to the prevalence of this and the crazy amount of DUI related accidents on the road, law enforcement officers are definitely always on the lookout for DUIs.

Norfolk DUI Checkpoints

Although DUI checkpoints aren’t as common in Norfolk as they are in some of the surrounding cities, there are a lot of checkpoints at particular times during the year such as any time Town Point Park has an event or during major holidays like Christmas time, St. Patrick’s day and the Fourth of July.

Something else to note about checkpoints in Norfolk is that the major roads that see frequent DUI checkpoints are not really the bigger roads, but more close to downtown Granby where a lot of bars are.  There are sometimes checkpoints there and also when there are festivals at Town Point Park on Waterside, then sometimes, there will be some checkpoints nearby.

What Makes DUI Cases in Norfolk Unique?

There is not really anything different in how Norfolk handles DUI cases, but the type of people in DUI cases in Norfolk tends to be heavily military personnel. There are a lot of military people located in Norfolk in general. So it makes sense that people with pretty stressful jobs and that are leaving their families for a long period of time may be more likely to drive while impaired. Also, in Norfolk, since we have some colleges, there are a lot of younger people that get charged with DUIs because of driving around drunk on campus.

Other than those factors everything else regarding DUI charges is pretty consistent with the rest of the state. It’s all done according to how the protocol requires it and there is nothing else special about how the law enforcement does anything.

Do You Need to Blow a 0.08% To Be Charged?

No, you don’t.  You can be charged if the officer feels that you’re impaired to the point where it’s not safe for you to be driving even if you did blow less than a 0.08.

How DUI Cases are Treated in Norfolk Court

In Norfolk, the DUIs are treated very seriously just likely any other criminal or traffic matter would be in Norfolk general district court. Although because it is a misdemeanor sometimes there may not be a prosecutor on the case, most of the time, however, there will be.