Zionsville Felony DUI Defense Lawyer

Level 5 Felony DUI

You can be charged with a level 5 felony if the following issues are present in your case:

•  A prior DUI conviction within the past 5 years that involved the serious bodily injury or death of another
•  A prior DUI conviction within the past 5 years that involved the serious injury of another and the current charge involves the serious injury of another
•  DUI involving the death of another

If you are convicted of a level 5 DUI, you can expect penalties including a prison sentence of between one and six years and a maximum fine of $10,000. You can also face a license suspension. Level 5 felonies have an advisory sentence of 3 years.

Level 4 Felony DUI

Level 4 felonies are the most serious types of felony DUIs. Level 4 DUI felonies involve one basic element: the death of another, in addition to any of the following issues:

•  A blood alcohol content(BAC) of 0.15%
•  A prior DUI conviction within the past 10 years
•  A suspended license resulting from a previous DUI or for being a habitual offender

Level 4 felonies carry the most severe penalties. If you are convicted of a level 4 DUI, you can face penalties including a prison sentence of two to twelve years, a maximum fine of $10,000, and a license suspension.
It is important to note that in the unfortunate event you cause the death of multiple people, you can face multiple felony DUI charges from that one accident. Each death will be treated as a separate offense.

Other Penalties

Besides the penalties for the charges above, you can also face other penalties depending on the number of prior convictions.
In case you have one prior DUI conviction, you can be subject to penalties like:

•  A minimum jail term of 5 days or 240 hours of community service
•  Completing a drug and alcohol assessment or treatment program

In case you have two prior DUI convictions, you can be subject to penalties like:

•  A minimum jail term of 10 days or 480 days of community service
•  Completing a drug and alcohol assessment or treatment program

The judge doesn’t have the mandate to suspend any of these terms of incarceration and they should consist of at least 48 consecutive hours and should be completed within 6 months of your sentencing.

What is a Habitual DWI Felony Charge?

Many people overestimate their ability to drive safely when drunk. It is a common mistake for people to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. This is why a regular first DUI is treated less seriously. However, choosing to get back on the wheel while drunk and getting arrested a second, third, fourth, and subsequent time is treated increasingly less favorably. It can be considered a blatant violation of the law.

In Indiana, a subsequent DUI conviction is one that occurs within five years of your previous conviction. If you rack up three DUI convictions within 10 years, you will be considered a habitual offender in Indiana. The third charge will automatically be tried as a felony.

Habitual vehicular substance offender enhancement (HVSO) allows the judge to add an extra sentence to the sentence imposed for your current charge. If you are deemed to be a habitual vehicular substance offender, the court can add one to eight years of imprisonment.
This means that if you get the minimum sentence for your current charge or don’t get any jail time at all, you can still end up serving 8 years thanks to the habitual vehicular substance offender enhancement.

What Other Felony DUI Charges Could I Face?

There are other charges and punishments connected to a DUI charge.

Reckless Homicide

It is important to note that the state of Indiana doesn’t have a ‘vehicular homicide’ or a ‘vehicular manslaughter’ statute. As a result, individuals who cause the death of another person due to drunk driving are usually charged with reckless homicide. Under Indian Code section 35-42-1-5, reckless homicide is the act of recklessly killing another person. Essentially, reckless conduct is one in which a person behaves in plain, conscious, and unjustifiable disregard of harm that might occur to others and the disregard involves a significant deflection from expected standards of conduct in that particular situation. Here, the prosecutor typically argues that you knew that driving while drink may cause substantial harm to others and you still chose to do so anyways.
Reckless homicide, also known as criminally negligent homicide, is a Level 5 felony.

Penalties

If convicted of reckless homicide, you may face penalties including a one to six-year prison imprisonment and a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Reach Out To An Experienced Felony DUI Defense Lawyer!

Being hit with a felony DUI charge in Indiana is one of the most serious legal matters that you can find yourself dealing with. Indiana has some of the most strict penalties for felony DUIs in the country. The possibility of jail time, hefty fines, loss of driving privileges, and the loss of certain civil rights such as the right to bear arms is sure to keep you awake at night. This is a matter that you need to deal with urgency and all seriousness. Your best move in the face of such a predicament is to hire a highly skilled and experienced Zionsville felony DUI defense attorney from Rathburn Law Office, P.C..

Charles Rathburn is a highly-trained and nationally-recognized DUI expert with over 25 years of experience helping people overcome DUI cases. While we do not condone drunk driving, we understand that there are many innocent people who end up suffering wrongful DUI convictions and unnecessary harsh consequences due to errors by law enforcement and the judicial system. 

We have taken it upon ourselves to help protect your rights, freedom, and future. Call us today at (463) 465-2401 to schedule a free consultation.