So we decided that this week is 80s movie week in at the ODonnellWeb World Headquarters. My impressions of movies I have not seen in at least a few years below.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Holds up better than I expected it would. The gratuitous nudity and drug use would probably not be happening in a movie targeted at teens in 2021, but the iconic scenes and lines mostly still stick their landings. Mr. Hand is still hilarious, and statutory rape is still statutory rape. I will say that scene was not particularly unrealistic though. 20 something year old dudes working the high schools was absolutely a thing. The movie is obviously played for laughs, but the emotions the characters were dealing with were feelings any 16-year-old in 1982 was painfully familiar with.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

There comes a point in a man’s life when he is rewatching Ferris Bueller for the umpteenth time, and he finally recognizes an unescapable truth.

Ferris is the asshole.

That moment for me was years ago and in a way, that freedom makes watching the movie even more fun. As a ridiculous 90 minutes of teenage escapism, the movie holds up very well, especially if you ignore the huge plot holes that you probably missed at age 16. Like, how did Sloan know the nurse was coming for her in class? It’s obvious later in the movie she wasn’t in on the plan that day, and how the hell did Ferris pay for that day? He doesn’t have a job and his parents clearly aren’t giving him a $100/week allowance. What high school in 1986 had a computer system that was accessible via modem? Also, how did his sister not recognize Mr. Rooney in her kitchen, and how did the cops not find his wallet on the floor to substantiate Jeannie’s story about an intruder?

It’s still a great movie though.

Pretty in Pink

Today is my wife’s birthday, and she picked the movie. I had no choice.

Pretty in Pink is not one of those flicks that I have rewatched a dozen times since the 80s. Honestly, I barely remembered the plot and in many ways was seeing it for the first time. It certainly does not hold up as well as Ferris Bueller. First, the whole rich kids / poor kids thing just feels so forced. Maybe it’s because I grew up in DoD schools where that dynamic didn’t really exist. In my memory of the 80s, and cute girl was a cute girl and nobody was going to stop talking to their best friend because they were dating a cute girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

Second, the poor kids are wearing way more interesting clothes and listening to way more interesting music. Maybe that is how it really worked in the 80s? I was a jeans and concert t-shirt metal head. I have little experience with either group, but it just seemed to me the “poor” kids were way more interesting. It didn’t feel like the movie was trying to make that point.

Third, Duckie is basically stalking Andi.

Fourth. Andi lives on the wrong side of the tracks in Chicago. Shouldn’t there be at least of a couple of kids of color in her class? I mean, come on. It’s freaking Chicago.

Sixteen Candles, which is way more problematic with racism, at least sort of felt like it wasn’t taking itself seriously. Pretty in Pink absolutely wants to be a serious movie, and it’s not a particularly good one.

Real Genius

Released in 1985 at the height of Reagan’s Star Wars shenanigans, it features idealistic college kids taking on the defense-industrial complex (which has always included higher ed) when they realize the laser they just perfected is actually a secret government weapon.

It’s got a good 80s soundtrack, a generally wholesome message of the smart kids being the good guys, and as a PG rated film the sex and drug related content required in every 80s movie is more hinted at than explicit, 10-inch spikes notwithstanding.

Given the lack of change in the defense industrial complex, it holds up shockingly well,and I might even say remains relevant.

Also, my wife insists she had never seen it prior to last week. How is that possible?

Risky Business

Thursday night at trivia we learned that Breck has never seen Risky Business. That made the final movie choice for the week easy. This movie is such an 80s period piece. Actually now that I think about it, there is a pretty straight line from Joel to Bud Fox in Wall Street a few years later.

It has all the hallmarks of the yuppie years. Teenagers obsessed with getting into the right college to make a lot of money. Teens obsessed with the Porsche. Teens obsessed with sex. Okay, that one probably isn’t so 80s centric. It’s almost a weird art film attempt at a teen coming of age comedy. You can literally see Joel become the stereotype Tom Cruise character as the movie progresses.

The WTF line gets all the attention, but for me the line of the movie is delivered by the always great Curtis Armstrong, “I don’t believe this! I’ve got a Trig midterm tomorrow, and I’m being chased by Guido the killer pimp.”

It’s still entertaining, and of course Risky Business would never get made today. But the re-watchability of it is not on par with Fast Times or Ferris or Real Genius. It's too 80s, and not in the nostalgic sense that Fast Times captures. It's simply just dated.

And that’s a wrap on 80s movie week. There are definitely plenty more movies to revisit, so I think we will do this again soon.

So we decided that this week is 80s movie week in at the ODonnellWeb World Headquarters. My impressions of movies I have not seen in at least a few years below.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Holds up better than I expected it would. The gratuitous nudity and drug use would probably not be happening in a movie targeted at teens in 2021, but the iconic scenes and lines mostly still stick their landings. Mr. Hand is still hilarious, and statutory rape is still statutory rape. I will say that scene was not particularly unrealistic though. 20 something year old dudes working the high schools was absolutely a thing. The movie is obviously played for laughs, but the emotions the characters were dealing with were feelings any 16-year-old in 1982 was painfully familiar with.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

There comes a point in a man’s life when he is rewatching Ferris Bueller for the umpteenth time, and he finally recognizes an unescapable truth.

Ferris is the asshole.

That moment for me was years ago and in a way, that freedom makes watching the movie even more fun. As a ridiculous 90 minutes of teenage escapism, the movie holds up very well, especially if you ignore the huge plot holes that you probably missed at age 16. Like, how did Sloan know the nurse was coming for her in class? It’s obvious later in the movie she wasn’t in on the plan that day, and how the hell did Ferris pay for that day? He doesn’t have a job and his parents clearly aren’t giving him a $100/week allowance. What high school in 1986 had a computer system that was accessible via modem? Also, how did his sister not recognize Mr. Rooney in her kitchen, and how did the cops not find his wallet on the floor to substantiate Jeannie’s story about an intruder?

It’s still a great movie though.

Pretty in Pink

Today is my wife’s birthday, and she picked the movie. I had no choice.

Pretty in Pink is not one of those flicks that I have rewatched a dozen times since the 80s. Honestly, I barely remembered the plot and in many ways was seeing it for the first time. It certainly does not hold up as well as Ferris Bueller. First, the whole rich kids / poor kids thing just feels so forced. Maybe it’s because I grew up in DoD schools where that dynamic didn’t really exist. In my memory of the 80s, and cute girl was a cute girl and nobody was going to stop talking to their best friend because they were dating a cute girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

Second, the poor kids are wearing way more interesting clothes and listening to way more interesting music. Maybe that is how it really worked in the 80s? I was a jeans and concert t-shirt metal head. I have little experience with either group, but it just seemed to me the “poor” kids were way more interesting. It didn’t feel like the movie was trying to make that point.

Third, Duckie is basically stalking Andi.

Fourth. Andi lives on the wrong side of the tracks in Chicago. Shouldn’t there be at least of a couple of kids of color in her class? I mean, come on. It’s freaking Chicago.

Sixteen Candles, which is way more problematic with racism, at least sort of felt like it wasn’t taking itself seriously. Pretty in Pink absolutely wants to be a serious movie, and it’s not a particularly good one.

Real Genius

Released in 1985 at the height of Reagan’s Star Wars shenanigans, it features idealistic college kids taking on the defense-industrial complex (which has always included higher ed) when they realize the laser they just perfected is actually a secret government weapon.

It’s got a good 80s soundtrack, a generally wholesome message of the smart kids being the good guys, and as a PG rated film the sex and drug related content required in every 80s movie is more hinted at than explicit, 10-inch spikes notwithstanding.

Given the lack of change in the defense industrial complex, it holds up shockingly well,and I might even say remains relevant.

Also, my wife insists she had never seen it prior to last week. How is that possible?

Risky Business

Thursday night at trivia we learned that Breck has never seen Risky Business. That made the final movie choice for the week easy. This movie is such an 80s period piece. Actually now that I think about it, there is a pretty straight line from Joel to Bud Fox in Wall Street a few years later.

It has all the hallmarks of the yuppie years. Teenagers obsessed with getting into the right college to make a lot of money. Teens obsessed with the Porsche. Teens obsessed with sex. Okay, that one probably isn’t so 80s centric. It’s almost a weird art film attempt at a teen coming of age comedy. You can literally see Joel become the stereotype Tom Cruise character as the movie progresses.

The WTF line gets all the attention, but for me the line of the movie is delivered by the always great Curtis Armstrong, “I don’t believe this! I’ve got a Trig midterm tomorrow, and I’m being chased by Guido the killer pimp.”

It’s still entertaining, and of course Risky Business would never get made today. But the re-watchability of it is not on par with Fast Times or Ferris or Real Genius. It's too 80s, and not in the nostalgic sense that Fast Times captures. It's simply just dated.

And that’s a wrap on 80s movie week. There are definitely plenty more movies to revisit, so I think we will do this again soon.

On July 1, 2021, marijuana became legal for recreational use in Virginia. So can you get a DUI for weed? Yes. If the police catch you driving while “stoned,” Virginia will charge you with driving while intoxicated.

You can characterize that charge as either DUI or DUID (driving under the influence of drugs).

The penalties for DUID are the same as the penalties for DUI because it is essentially the same charge.

Marijuana DUI: The Legal Standard of Intoxication

The most important difference between a DUI for alcohol and a DUI for marijuana (a DUID) is that Virginia has no formal standard of intoxication for marijuana.

For alcohol, Virginia will presume that you are an impaired driver if your blood alcohol concentration exceeds 0.08%. No such objective standard exists for marijuana, although the state can use chemical testing as (inconclusive) evidence of DUID.

Impairment: Can You Get a DUI for Weed Based on the Presence of THC in Your Bloodstream?

In an adult DUI case, the Code of Virginia presumes you are NOT guilty of alcohol-DUI if your blood alcohol content is .05 or less.

In a marijuana DUID case, by contrast, you could be either guilty or not guilty with any amount of THC in your system at all. The issue is not how much THC was in your blood but whether you were driving “impaired” because of marijuana.

By contrast, Virginia is not likely to prosecute you for possession of marijuana due to the presence of THC in your bloodstream.

Keep in mind that in Virginia, the police can arrest you for smoking marijuana or possessing an open container of marijuana (presumably even a “joint”) even as a passenger in a vehicle that you are not driving.

The Role of Chemical Testing

Chemical testing is one form of evidence of marijuana impairment, but so is:

• Your driving behavior, as observed by the officer and any witnesses; 
• Your own statements; and
• Your performance on field sobriety tests (physical and mental tests for impairment that the officer administers at the scene of the traffic stop).

If you refuse to submit to chemical testing, the prosecutor can use your refusal as evidence of your guilt. Virginia can also suspend your driver’s license simply for refusing a chemical test, even if you were not impaired.

Defenses

There is more than one way to beat a DUI for weed in Virginia. Below are descriptions of the two most popular ways.

Fourth Amendment Violation

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution prevents the police from searching your car or your person, or even pulling you over without some sort of justification.

For a traffic stop, the police normally need reasonable suspicion. If they pull you over without it, the judge may exclude everything they found from evidence.

Does the odor of marijuana justify a search of your car or your person?

No. The police may not search you or your car due solely to the odor of marijuana. Two exceptions are at the airport, and when you are driving a commercial vehicle.

Are sobriety checkpoints legal?

Virginia courts have ruled that sobriety checkpoints, where the police can check every driver at a given intersection for intoxication without reasonable suspicion, are legal in most cases.

But they are illegal in some instances, such as when police only stop drivers of a certain race. The police cannot pull you over simply for evading a sobriety checkpoint.

The Bottom Line: Virginia DUID Penalties

In Virginia, the penalties for DUID are as follows:

• First offense (a Class 1 misdemeanor): Up to 12 months in jail, a fine of $250 to $2,500, and a one-year driver’s license suspension.
• A second offense within five to ten years (Class 1 misdemeanor): A minimum of 10 days in jail (up to a year), plus a minimum fine of $500 (up to $2,500) and a three-year driver’s license suspension.  
• A second offense within five years (Class 1 misdemeanor): 20 days to one year in jail, a minimum $500 fine, and a three-year driver’s license suspension. 
• A third offense within 10 years (Class 6 felony): A minimum of 90 days in jail (up to 5 years) plus a minimum fine of $1,000 (up to $2,500), an indefinite driver’s license suspension, and forfeiture of your vehicle.
• A third offense within 5 years: A minimum of six months in jail (up to five years) plus a minimum fine of $1,000 (up to $2,500), an indefinite driver’s license suspension, and forfeiture of your vehicle.

Other penalties, such as community service and mandatory participation in the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP), may also apply.

The penalties for further offenses are even more severe. The professional consequences can be devastating as well.

Now Is the Time to Start Preparing Your Defense

Did you get a DUI for weed? I am Andrew Flusche, and I will begin preparing your defense as soon as you retain me.

I handle all my cases personally and fight hard for my clients. Please examine my client reviews here.

Call me at 540-318-5824, email me at andrew@andrewflusche.com, or contact me online for a free consultation. My office is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

The post What Are the Penalties for a Marijuana DUI in Virginia? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

I am no stranger to Devil's Backbone beers and the base camp brewery in Nelson County. I was visiting there when they were just a small local brewer. However, I had never camped at their campground, until this weekend.

The campground is nice, if a bit pricey. There are three camping loops, tent city, standard dry sites, and the full hookups. The full hookups loop is just two rows of campers packed side by side, no shade, etc. We were in the standard dry sites and I think they are the best sites. They are on the tree line with plenty of shade, and closer to the bathhouse. I think the spacing is the same but it didn't feel as tight, probably cause our section was tents, camper vans, and teardrops, with no 40 foot Class A campers, because they won't fit anyway in the dry section.

It should go without saying that there is a walking path to the brewpub. In theory that could make your camping weekend kind of expensive should you choose to eat at the pub both nights.

In theory.

We spent Saturday running around the mountains. We started at the Raptor Migration count at Rockfish Gap. While we were there we only saw vultures, however they had counted over 1000 broadwing hawks the prior day and were hoping for the same on Saturday. Who knew every raptor migrating from the NE flew through Rockfish Gap in the fall?

We had a quick picnic lunch at the Dundo picnic area, and by picnic I mean we sat in the truck and ate because the gnats were out of control, completely swarming the minute you stepped out of the vehicle. After that we hiked to the summit of Blackrock Mountain, which is an easy 1 mile hike to a stunning overlook and impressive rock pile, which I learned was actually the bottom of the sea back in the day.

After that we started back south, pulling over at a random scenic overlook to set up our lawn chairs and chill for an hour in the pleasant mountain air. In that time we saw dozens of cars pull up, take a photo out the window, and take off.

Experiencing nature - they are all doing it wrong.

After that we headed back to camp where we may or may not have dined at the pub. The evening was spent in the traditional way - beer in hand and staring at a campfire.

DB Camp's checkout time is 1 PM, so you don't have to rush out in the morning. Almost everybody did though. When we left at noon there was one other car in the non-electric sites area.

I'll be back there for Halloween weekend.

More Pictures

I am no stranger to Devil's Backbone beers and the base camp brewery in Nelson County. I was visiting there when they were just a small local brewer. However, I had never camped at their campground, until this weekend.

The campground is nice, if a bit pricey. There are three camping loops, tent city, standard dry sites, and the full hookups. The full hookups loop is just two rows of campers packed side by side, no shade, etc. We were in the standard dry sites and I think they are the best sites. They are on the tree line with plenty of shade, and closer to the bathhouse. I think the spacing is the same but it didn't feel as tight, probably cause our section was tents, camper vans, and teardrops, with no 40 foot Class A campers, because they won't fit anyway in the dry section.

It should go without saying that there is a walking path to the brewpub. In theory that could make your camping weekend kind of expensive should you choose to eat at the pub both nights.

In theory.

We spent Saturday running around the mountains. We started at the Raptor Migration count at Rockfish Gap. While we were there we only saw vultures, however they had counted over 1000 broadwing hawks the prior day and were hoping for the same on Saturday. Who knew every raptor migrating from the NE flew through Rockfish Gap in the fall?

We had a quick picnic lunch at the Dundo picnic area, and by picnic I mean we sat in the truck and ate because the gnats were out of control, completely swarming the minute you stepped out of the vehicle. After that we hiked to the summit of Blackrock Mountain, which is an easy 1 mile hike to a stunning overlook and impressive rock pile, which I learned was actually the bottom of the sea back in the day.

After that we started back south, pulling over at a random scenic overlook to set up our lawn chairs and chill for an hour in the pleasant mountain air. In that time we saw dozens of cars pull up, take a photo out the window, and take off.

Experiencing nature - they are all doing it wrong.

After that we headed back to camp where we may or may not have dined at the pub. The evening was spent in the traditional way - beer in hand and staring at a campfire.

DB Camp's checkout time is 1 PM, so you don't have to rush out in the morning. Almost everybody did though. When we left at noon there was one other car in the non-electric sites area.

I'll be back there for Halloween weekend.

More Pictures

If you ever drive in Virginia, you need to know something about Virginia traffic laws, especially Virginia speeding tickets. Did you know that you can go to jail over a Virginia speeding ticket?

Even if your speeding offense is not serious enough to warrant jail time, you could still place your ability to drive in Virginia in jeopardy by speeding, and your home state might even revoke your license.

Lastly, an out-of-state speeding ticket is not good for the pocketbook.

Speeding Penalties in Virginia

Virginia speeding ticket fines are among the nation’s most expensive, and among the most variable.  First, Virginia assesses a minimum $62 for every traffic ticket as court costs. After that, you pay:

• $6 for every mph over the speed limit;
• $7 for every mph over the speed limit if you were driving in a work or construction zone; or
• $8 for every mph over the speed limit in a residential area, plus another $200.

Adding up taxes, court fees, and other fees, the total cost for a speeding ticket average around $200. It can get even more expensive.

The faster you were driving, the higher the fine; and some courts impose more court costs for things like courthouse construction costs.

Virginia Speeding Laws: The DMV Point System

Do you hold a Virginia drivers’ license? Even if you are from a different state and hold that state’s license, you might regularly drive in Virginia.

For instance, if you live in DC or Maryland, you might work in Virginia. And if you regularly drive in Virginia and get ticketed for speeding there, the Virginia DMV points could impact you even if you don’t have a Virginia driver’s license. 

Virginia operates on a system of merits and demerits. Any traffic violation will cost you demerit points.

A speeding ticket, for example, will cost you three to six demerit points. Voluntarily attending safe driving school can earn you merit points, up to a maximum of five.

If you accumulate 18 demerits in 12 months or 24 demerits in 24 months, Virginia will suspend your driver’s license for 90 days.

The Driver License Compact

The Driver License Compact is an information-sharing organization of US states, under which states share information about the driving records of each other’s drivers.

This is done so that an out-of-state driver cannot avoid the consequences of a bad driving record by simply returning home.

Virginia has an agreement with every Driver License Compact state to report driving-related violations of the law to the driver’s home state. 

Every US state is a member of the Driver License Compact except Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. 

Even if you hold a driver’s license from one of these states, however, there is no guarantee that they will not learn of your speeding ticket in Virginia.

If your home state discovers your Virginia ticket, it will penalize you based on its own laws, not Virginia’s. Virginia can, however, ban you from driving in Virginia.

Criminal Speeding in Virginia

In Virginia, speeding is a criminal offense known as Reckless Driving by Speed if:

• You drive more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit; or
• You drive more than 80 mph (even if you were driving less than 20 miles over the speed limit).

Fine

A reckless driving conviction almost always has a fine imposed. The judge can impose any fine up to $2,500. Depending upon the circumstances of the case and your history, your fine will hopefully be much less than the maximum.

Jail Time

Some courts have a formulaic method to impose jail time for reckless driving by speed. For example, some courts impose a day of jail for every mph over 90 mph.

Some courts start counting at 100 mph. Most judges do not stick strictly to a schedule of jail time, but for high-speed cases, jail can definitely be an issue to fight.

Failure to Appear

You cannot avoid this distressing state of affairs by prepaying your ticket, returning home, and avoiding Virginia in the future. In fact, you cannot prepay a Reckless Driving by Speed ticket.

In many courts, the judge will require you to appear personally in court, and they will issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to appear. In other courts, the judge will allow your lawyer to appear on your behalf. 

Although judges will not always sentence a defendant to jail for Reckless Driving by Speed, failure to show up for any jail sentence will result in a warrant for your arrest.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay a Speeding Ticket From Out of State?

In Virginia, you must pay your traffic ticket fines within 90 days of the conviction date. You can always contest it in court.

If you lose, however, you must still pay the fine. If you miss the deadline you could accumulate interest charges and collection actions may begin. Indeed, the judge might even issue a warrant for your arrest.

Aggressive Representation

My name is Andrew Flusche, and I know exactly how to fight an out-of-state speeding ticket. Any lawyer can boast of his legal prowess, but not every lawyer has so many former clients who spread the good word for him.

If Virginia has ticketed you, especially if it is Reckless Driving by Speed, contact me immediately to schedule a free consultation. 

Call me at 540-318-5824, email me at andrew@andrewflusche.com, or contact me online for a free consultation. My main office is in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I handle local courts all around the area.

The post What You Need to Know About Speeding in Virginia as an Out-of-State Resident appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

In Virginia, driving while high can get you into just as much trouble as driving drunk can.

It can be more difficult, however, for Virginia to convict you for driving while high on certain drugs such as marijuana.

Keep in mind that Virginia can convict you even if the substance that you are high on is perfectly legal. You cannot drive while high on prescription pain meds, for example, even with a valid prescription. 

DUID in Virginia

In Virginia, DUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs) is the counterpart to DUI. Virginia will charge you with DUI for driving while drunk, and it will charge you with DUID for driving while high. The penalties are comparable (see below for specifics).

The standard for Intoxication: Marijuana and Other Drugs

A driver violates Virginia’s DUID law if they are intoxicated on any drug that causes impairment, whether legal or illegal. There is a formal legal limit, similar to the 0.08% BAC for alcohol, for certain drugs, including:

• 0.02 milligrams of cocaine per liter of blood;
• 0.1 milligrams of methamphetamine per liter;
• 0.01 milligrams of phencyclidine (PCP) per liter; and
• 0.1 milligrams of MDMA per liter.

Virginia is not likely to charge you with possession of any of these substances based merely on their presence in your bloodstream.

Special Case: Marijuana

Unlike some states, Virginia has not set a formal legal limit that defines marijuana intoxication based on the level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Instead, the determination of marijuana intoxication is subjective, and no particular amount other than zero guarantees either guilt or innocence.

How Do You Prove DUID Intoxication?

In a DUID prosecution, the prosecutor will rely on chemical evidence if it is available. This applies to marijuana even though Virginia applies no formal legal standard of intoxication. The prosecutor will also rely on evidence that you were driving badly, including: 

• Observations of the officer; 
• Your own admissions (if any); and
• Your performance on field sobriety tests that the officer administered after pulling you over. 

The lack of any objective chemical standard for marijuana intoxication and intoxication on certain other types of substances renders observational and testimonial evidence even more important.

Potential Defenses

The following is only a tiny sampling of potential DUID defenses. The first two listed defenses are often winners, while the third defense is typically a bad idea. 

The Fourth Amendment

Virginia police do not have a “radar gun” that can measure your degree of intoxication while you are still driving. To charge you, the police must first pull you over.  To pull you over, however, the police need “reasonable suspicion” that you violated the law in some way.

Therefore, if the police pull you over without reasonable suspicion that you committed a crime, the stop may be illegal and you might have a defense.

You could argue that any evidence that they gathered after the illegal stop, including a chemical test of the contents of your bloodstream, violated the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution (banning illegal search and seizure).

If this argument wins, the judge should exclude the evidence. And without critical evidence, you would walk free.

Unreliable Chemical Testing

The lack of any objective standard for marijuana intoxication could get you unjustly convicted of DUID. The police might find marijuana in your bloodstream, for example, based on marijuana that you ingested the day before.

They could then use it as evidence that you were intoxicated at the time they pulled you over, even if the effects had long worn off.  

Things could work the opposite way, however. Even if you were intoxicated at the time, a good lawyer might successfully argue that the subjective standard of marijuana intoxication based on chemical testing is inherently unreliable.

Therefore, without a reliable blood test, the police lacked sufficient evidence of intoxication and you should be acquitted. 

Lack of Evidence Due to Your Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test

One strategy that drivers sometimes use is to refuse to submit to a chemical test and then move for a dismissal of DUID charges. However, this strategy will probably backfire because:

• Virginia can suspend your driver’s license for one year for refusing a chemical test, even if you are innocent of DUID. A second offense of refusal results in three years suspension plus possible jail time. 
• The prosecutor can use your refusal as evidence to win a DUID conviction even without a chemical test.

For these reasons, refusing a test can result in bad consequences as far as your ability to drive is concerned.

DUID Penalties

Virginia driving while high laws are no laughing matter. The penalty for driving while high, as for any other Class 1 misdemeanor, is 12 months in jail, up to a $2,500 fine, and certain other mandatory penalties.

These mandatory penalties include a loss of driving privileges for up to a year and participation in the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP).

Penalties increase substantially for a second offense within five years, and DUID is a felony for a third offense within 10 years. Furthermore, DUID is a criminal offense that could follow you around for the rest of your life.

Imagine the effect of a DUID, for example, if you are seeking a job that would involve driving, obtaining a commercial driver’s license, obtaining security clearance, or obtaining a pilot’s license.

I’m Ready for Action

My name is Andrew Flusche, and I am ready to spring into action the moment you retain me as your DUID attorney. I handle all cases personally, and I enjoy good working relationships with local prosecutors and judges. Check out my client reviews here.

Call me at 540-318-5824, email me at andrew@andrewflusche.com, or contact me online for a free consultation, so we can discuss your options. My office is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

The post Can I Get Pulled Over Driving High in Virginia? appeared first on Andrew Flusche.

Almost exactly one year to the day since we camped at First Landing State park in Virginia Beach, we did it again.

The timing wasn't the only thing that was similar. This year also featured the remnants of a hurricane headed towards the Mid-Atlantic area. However this year the storm stayed north and the impact on the beach was 3 days of perfect beach weather. It was about 80 and sunny with low humidity every day.

We drove down Thursday evening so I could work from the camper on Friday and we could avoid the Friday of a holiday weekend traffic. It turned out our campsite was a a T-Mobile dead spot so I spent about 6 hours at American Brew instead, a coffee shop with a full bar. I stuck to coffee and smoothies. My wife helped by texting me beach photos while I was in a Zoom meeting. Thanks honey.

I shut down around 3 PM and got a couple of hours of quality beach time in on Friday afternoon. I do think I want to try working away from the house more next year, allowing us to extend our camping trips a bit. So this off-season I need to get up to speed on remote Internet access options for campers. I know there are a lot of options, just need to figure out what will work best for me.

Friday night we walked down the beach about a 1/4 mile to meet up with friends at their neighborhood informal beach potluck. Hanging out with good people drinking beer and eating, with your toes in the sand and a nice ocean breeze blowing, is exactly as awesome as you think it is. Walking back was fun as there was no moon so it was really dark. I'm not sure how I would have found the access point back to the campground if there wasn't a wheelchair mat extending out into the sand. At night in the dark all the sand dunes look the same.

Saturday was a 10/10 beach day. We set up the sun shade, hung out till 1 PM, went back to the camper for lunch, returned to the beach and hung out some more until it was time to meet up with friends for dinner. After dinner we returned to the campsite for some quality campfire time.

Sunday was all about the beach. We set up around 10:30 AM and didn't leave the beach until about 4 PM. We actually did camping food on Sunday too, grilling burgers at the camper. And then spent some more quality time staring at a campfire.

Monday, sadly, was go home day.

Almost exactly one year to the day since we camped at First Landing State park in Virginia Beach, we did it again.

The timing wasn't the only thing that was similar. This year also featured the remnants of a hurricane headed towards the Mid-Atlantic area. However this year the storm stayed north and the impact on the beach was 3 days of perfect beach weather. It was about 80 and sunny with low humidity every day.

We drove down Thursday evening so I could work from the camper on Friday and we could avoid the Friday of a holiday weekend traffic. It turned out our campsite was a a T-Mobile dead spot so I spent about 6 hours at American Brew instead, a coffee shop with a full bar. I stuck to coffee and smoothies. My wife helped by texting me beach photos while I was in a Zoom meeting. Thanks honey.

I shut down around 3 PM and got a couple of hours of quality beach time in on Friday afternoon. I do think I want to try working away from the house more next year, allowing us to extend our camping trips a bit. So this off-season I need to get up to speed on remote Internet access options for campers. I know there are a lot of options, just need to figure out what will work best for me.

Friday night we walked down the beach about a 1/4 mile to meet up with friends at their neighborhood informal beach potluck. Hanging out with good people drinking beer and eating, with your toes in the sand and a nice ocean breeze blowing, is exactly as awesome as you think it is. Walking back was fun as there was no moon so it was really dark. I'm not sure how I would have found the access point back to the campground if there wasn't a wheelchair mat extending out into the sand. At night in the dark all the sand dunes look the same.

Saturday was a 10/10 beach day. We set up the sun shade, hung out till 1 PM, went back to the camper for lunch, returned to the beach and hung out some more until it was time to meet up with friends for dinner. After dinner we returned to the campsite for some quality campfire time.

Sunday was all about the beach. We set up around 10:30 AM and didn't leave the beach until about 4 PM. We actually did camping food on Sunday too, grilling burgers at the camper. And then spent some more quality time staring at a campfire.

Monday, sadly, was go home day.

Almost exactly one year to the day since we camped at First Landing State park in Virginia Beach, we did it again.

The timing wasn't the only thing that was similar. This year also featured the remnants of a hurricane headed towards the Mid-Atlantic area. However this year the storm stayed north and the impact on the beach was 3 days of perfect beach weather. It was about 80 and sunny with low humidity every day.

We drove down Thursday evening so I could work from the camper on Friday and we could avoid the Friday of a holiday weekend traffic. It turned out our campsite was a a T-Mobile dead spot so I spent about 6 hours at American Brew instead, a coffee shop with a full bar. I stuck to coffee and smoothies. My wife helped by texting me beach photos while I was in a Zoom meeting. Thanks honey.

I shut down around 3 PM and got a couple of hours of quality beach time in on Friday afternoon. I do think I want to try working away from the house more next year, allowing us to extend our camping trips a bit. So this off-season I need to get up to speed on remote Internet access options for campers. I know there are a lot of options, just need to figure out what will work best for me.

Friday night we walked down the beach about a 1/4 mile to meet up with friends at their neighborhood informal beach potluck. Hanging out with good people drinking beer and eating, with your toes in the sand and a nice ocean breeze blowing, is exactly as awesome as you think it is. Walking back was fun as there was no moon so it was really dark. I'm not sure how I would have found the access point back to the campground if there wasn't a wheelchair mat extending out into the sand. At night in the dark all the sand dunes look the same.

Saturday was a 10/10 beach day. We set up the sun shade, hung out till 1 PM, went back to the camper for lunch, returned to the beach and hung out some more until it was time to meet up with friends for dinner. After dinner we returned to the campsite for some quality campfire time.

Sunday was all about the beach. We set up around 10:30 AM and didn't leave the beach until about 4 PM. We actually did camping food on Sunday too, grilling burgers at the camper. And then spent some more quality time staring at a campfire.

Monday, sadly, was go home day.