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Vermont DUI arrests give rise
to two separate cases. There is the criminal
court case and the license suspension case
with the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles.
Vermont
DUI cases are can be prosecuted using two theories.
Vermont DUI convictions
may be obtained under the impairment theory,
or under a "per se" theory. There
are important differences between these two
types of DUI charges.
Under the impairment theory, the prosecutor must prove that the driver
is mentally or physically impaired by the consumption of alcohol
and/or drugs, and is therefore under the
influence as defined by Vermont DUI law.
The prosecutor may prove this by introducing
evidence of erratic driving patterns, physical
appearance, performance on field
sobriety tests and chemical test results.
Under the “per se” theory, the
focus is not on whether the driver
was impaired, but instead, it focuses on
whether the person drove a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of
.08% or higher. This theory relies solely on body chemistry. Vermont law enforcement utilize many enforcement
techniques to apprehend DUI offenders. These
include sobriety checkpoints, publicized
enforcement campaigns, standardized field
sobriety tests, blanket patrols, mobile videotaping,
and more.
It is very important to know that Vermont
DUI law provides for administrative driver’s
license sanctions and increased criminal
punishment for accused DUI offenders who
refuse to submit to chemical testing following
a lawful arrest by a police officer. Administrative
sanctions for a refusal to cooperate with
a chemical test can include a six-month license
suspension for a first offense, 18 months
for a second offense and three years for
a third or subsequent offense. In addition,
refusing to submit to chemical testing may
be a separate crime if the offender has a
prior drunk driving violation or has caused
an accident resulting in bodily injury or
death.
If the offender has previously been convicted
of a similar offense, a DUI punishment for
a current offense may be increased. There
is no washout period in Vermont, which means
that a prior Vermont DUI offense, no matter
how old it is, may be used to enhance the current
DUI offense.
Vermont DUI punishments can include fines,
jail time, loss of driving privileges, community
service, vehicle forfeiture, mandatory alcohol
educational courses and the installation
of an ignition interlock device in any and
all vehicles the offender has access to.
It should also be noted that Vermont is an
active state in the Interstate Driver’s
License Compact. This compact allows states
to share information regarding DUI convictions
which can then be used as “priors” to
enhance sentences for current convictions.
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