Practice Areas

DUI / Drunk Driving

Virginia Drunk Driving Defense

If you're facing a drunk driving conviction in the Newport News or Hampton Roads area of Virginia, you need an experienced drunk driving defense attorney with common sense, compassion, and a concern for your welfare. I've made it my life's work to help people in trouble find fair treatment in the courts.

I am a Newport News DUI lawyer representing people on charges of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs, drunk boating, public drunkenness, underage possession of alcohol, and habitual offender status.

Contact the law office of John J. Rice for a free initial consultation and prompt attention to your case.

DUI in Virginia

If your blood alcohol level (BAC) is .08 or more, you will be charged with driving under the influence (DUI). If the first time you are arrested for drunk driving with a BAC of .15 to .19, you will get a mandatory jail sentence of 5 days. If it's .2 or higher, you will be in jail for 10 days.

Virginia DUI laws are harsh. If you have had a few too many to drink, you should not drive. But more than that, you should not put your keys in the ignition. Do not sit in your car with the heater on. Do not sit in your car listening to the radio.

If you're convicted of drunk driving in Virginia, you will likely be sentenced to a driver safety program, and will face significant fines, jail time, and short-term suspension or revocation of your drivers license.

Before you subject yourself to costly penalties, let's be sure the State has a case. As your drunk driving defense attorney, I'll check out the evidence against you and see if errors were made in your stop or alcohol test. I will vigorously defend you in your administrative hearing with the DMV and in court.

I'm thorough and tenacious in providing the best defense to my clients. I've been representing people charged with crimes and traffic offenses for more than 30 years.

Underage Drinking

21 is the legal drinking age in Virginia. Anyone under age 21 who consumes or purchases alcohol will be charged with a misdemeanor. If you obtain alcohol for an underage person, you can be charged with a misdemeanor, and may be sentenced to jail, fined $500, sentenced to community service, and have your drivers license suspended for six months.

Defending Tourists, Visitors, Military Personnel

In my law practice I defend many out-of-town visitors or tourists who came to town for a campus tour or a job interview but left with a ticket for drunk driving. About 1/3 of my clients are active duty or retired military personnel for whom a drunk driving charge will have very serious implications for their military career.

If you are facing DWI charges in Virginia, call a Newport News DUI lawyer with knowledge and experience in the local courts. Contact the law office of John J. Rice; I will vigorously defend your rights in administrative hearings and in court.