DWI Penalties in Arkansas

Trying to handle a DWI / DUI charge without an attorney, or with an inexperienced attorney, can have devastating results. If a friend or family member has told you that a DWI / DUI is “no big deal” – that you will “just have to pay a fine and do alcohol classes,” they do not fully understand the potential consequences of a DWI / DUI. If you plead guilty to a judge, he or she can put you in jail for up to one year – even for a first offense DWI! Every DWI / DUI conviction exposes you to jail, or public service, as well as fines and court costs. In fact, there is a Judge in several Northwest Arkansas courts that gives most people, with first offense DWI charges, at least 5 days in jail. We have defended well-over 8,000 DWI / DUI cases. Our criminal defense legal team uses that experience, and problems we find with the prosecutor’s evidence, to work toward really great outcomes for our clients. Those may include winning your case, getting dismisssal of other charges, keeping you out of jail, keeping other charges off of your record, keeping fines low, etc.

Every DWI / DUI conviction can expose you to real and hidden costs. Some of the real costs can be:

DWI NO. 1
Minimum of 1 day in jail, maximum of 1 year in jail, or public service and up to $1,000 fine, at least $300 in court costs, plus suspension of your driver’s license.

DWI NO. 2
Minimum of 7 days in jail, maximum of 1 year in jail, or 30 days of public service and up to a $3,000 fine, at least $300 court costs, plus suspension of your driver’s license.

DWI NO. 3
Minimum of 90 days in jail, maximum of 1 year in jail, or 90 days of public service and up to a $5,000 fine, at least $300 in court costs, plus suspension of your driver’s license.

DWI NO. 4
Minimum of 1 year in PRISON, maximum of 6 years in PRISON, or 1 year public service and up to a $5,000 fine, at least $300 in court costs, plus revocation of your driver’s license.

Depending on your charge, there may be some hidden costs of a DWI / DUI as well:

• Your driver’s license will be suspended, unless you win your administrative hearing;
• Your will have to do alcohol/substance abuse treatment at your expense, unless we win your DWI / DUI case;
• You will have to complete a Victim Impact Panel at your expense, unless we win your DWI / DUI case;
• If there was a person under 16 years of age in the car at the time of your arrest for DWI, the jail penalties are much worse;
• You may have difficulty in obtaining and keeping (because of increased costs) car, life and/or medical insurance;
• You may lose your voting rights, if your charge is a felony;
• You may lose your job;
• You may have trouble getting a job;
• You may have trouble traveling into some foreign countries.

No lawyer can guarantee the results of a case; however, at Norwood & Norwood, we do promise that we will fight hard to:

• Find a way to win;
• Get other charges dismissed or reduced;
• Keep you out of jail;
• Keep other charges off your record;
• Keep your fines low;
• Arrange to have you pay any fines over a period of time rather than all on your court date.

The consequences of conviction can be costly! You potentially face jail time, fines, court costs, suspension of your driver’s license and even the loss of your job. Norwood & Norwood has either won or negotiated dismissals for many thousands of charges for our clients and most of our clients NEVER GO TO JAIL. Let us see if we can do that for you! Your first visit with us to discuss your case is absolutely FREE, and you are under no obligation to hire us. If you decide to hire us we offer reasonable rates, payment plans, and accept VISA, MASTERCARD and DISCOVER. We have proven many thousands of times that,just because you have been charged with a crime, doesn’t mean you will be convicted of that crime. If you have the opportunity to hire one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Arkansas at a reasonable rate you can afford, why wouldn’t you? We fight hard for our clients and we would love to help you!