State drunken driving test laws glance: "Every state except Nevada suspends a driver's license for refusing a breath or blood test after being stopped on suspicion of drunken driving. South Dakota does not suspend the license of a person who refuses to take the test in the field but does if the motorist is arrested and still refuses. With three new laws passed in 2005, 19 states now add civil or criminal penalties ranging from fines to jail time.
Here are the penalties, plus the 2001 percentage of drivers who refused the tests in those states:-Alaska: Minimum $250 fine and 72 hours jail for first offense; increases to $4,000-$5,000 and one year for sixth. 17 percent.
-Arkansas: Minimum $100 fine for first offense; increases to $500-$2,000 and 60 days community service for third. 21 percent.
-California: Minimum $390 fine and 48 hours jail for first offense if there's a prior DUI conviction; increases to 18 days for fourth. 5 percent.
-Delaware: Vehicle impounded 90 days for first offense, one year for a second. 15 percent.
-Florida: $1,000 fine and one year in jail for second offense. 37 percent."
# posted by W.F. "Casey" Ebsary, Jr. : 2:58 PM


"Every morning, Jessica Leslie thinks about the man she killed. She spends the rest of the day trying to forgive herself. It's been eight months since she left prison, but for the rest of her life she'll be branded: Felon. Youthful offender. Danger to society. Killer. For the rest of her life, she'll be haunted by the sight of that arm around the left front tire of her Toyota Celica. Four years ago, Leslie was celebrating her plans to join the U.S. Air Force. Now she stands in front of 250 strangers and explains how she went from being vice president of Students Against Drunk Driving in high school to pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter.
'I had two beers and two shots,' she said."
DUI Florida Attorney
# posted by W.F. "Casey" Ebsary, Jr. : 7:14 AM

