Nebraska DUI: Penalties and Criminal Charge Defense

A criminal charge of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol or other chemicals is a serious offense in most states, and the Nebraska DUI laws reflect the seriousness of the crime.  Because of the dangers that drunk drivers on the road pose to other drivers, innocent bystanders, and personal property, almost all of the states in the US have come down hard on drunk driving.  The state of Nebraska has a number of serious penalties that can result from a DUI arrest and conviction, and, although your chances of getting the charges dropped are not good depending on the circumstances of your case and the violation, there are certain defenses that you can use against these serious penalties. 

Nebraska DUI Penalties

The DUI laws in Nebraska are somewhat complex because they base the offense on your blood alcohol content. 

• A BAC of 0.08 is considered to be the legal limit, and arrest and conviction with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.14 will get you a Class W Misdemeanor charge for the first offense.  This carries a penalty of seven to sixty days in prison, suspension of driver’s license for up to five months, two days in prison as part of probation or up to 120 hours of community service, a $400 to $500 fine and up to one year of license revocation depending on the judge. 
• If your BAC is twice the legal limit, 0.15 or higher, the penalties are mostly the same, except that you can have a revocation of 30 days to six months in jail, 1 year license revocation, and 10 days in jail or up to 240 hours of community service mandatory, along with an alcohol monitoring device during probation.  

Obviously, any DUI will get you in trouble, but some can be worse.  The penalties increase rapidly as you get to your second and subsequent offenses, becoming a felony by the third drunk driving offense.

Defenses to DUI 

If you have been arrested and charged with DUI in Nebraska, you may be able to claim that the arrest was without probable cause – for example, you were pulled over for failing to signal a turn, and were arrested and charged with drunk driving.  You may also be able to call into question the testing devices, methods, and certifications of the officers involved in determining your blood alcohol content, but you will likely need to contact a competent attorney to assist you with this process if you hope to win your case.

Getting Help

There are attorneys in Nebraska who specialize in DUI who can assist you when you are arrested for DUI. Your best bet for minimizing your penalties is to call such an attorney as soon as possible after your arrest.