Venganza Law

What Are Legal Issues with Aggravated DUI in U.S. Law?

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  An Aggravated DUI is a more serious form of a standard DUI charge. It involves driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but with additional factors that make the offense more dangerous or harmful—such as driving with a suspended license, having multiple prior DUIs, causing injury or death, or driving under the influence with a child in the car. While a regular DUI is typically charged as a misdemeanor, an aggravated DUI is often treated as a felony, carrying harsher penalties including longer jail time, higher fines, and longer license suspensions. State laws vary, but the consequences and complexity of an aggravated DUI are severe no matter where you are in the United States.

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Common Legal Issues with Aggravated DUI

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  One major legal issue is what triggers the “aggravated” status. This can include factors like having multiple prior DUI convictions, a very high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) (often over 0.15 or 0.20), driving without a valid license or insurance, causing an accident that injures or kills someone, or having a child passenger in the car while driving under the influence. Each of these factors can elevate a simple DUI into a felony offense.

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  Another issue involves how the DUI was discovered and investigated. If the arresting officer violated your constitutional rights—by pulling you over without reasonable suspicion, for example, or by conducting an illegal search—any evidence gathered, including breathalyzer or blood test results, may be challenged in court.

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  BAC testing accuracy is another area of concern. Breathalyzers and other chemical tests are not always accurate. Errors in calibration, administration, or lab procedures can lead to false readings. If your aggravated DUI is based on a BAC over the legal limit or an "extremely high BAC" enhancement, challenging the reliability of the test results may be critical.

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  Prior offenses are also closely scrutinized. Prosecutors often use past DUIs to elevate new charges, but those prior convictions must be valid. If a past DUI was resolved improperly or without due process, it may not be legally usable to aggravate a new charge.

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  An aggravated DUI charge may also stem from causing serious bodily injury or death in an accident while under the influence. In those cases, the prosecution may add charges such as vehicular assault, manslaughter, or homicide. These charges drastically increase the potential penalties and may involve complex accident reconstruction and toxicology evidence.

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  There are also issues related to mandatory minimum sentencing. Many states require harsh minimum penalties for aggravated DUI convictions, including long jail or prison terms, multi-year license revocation, mandatory alcohol treatment programs, and installation of an ignition interlock device. These penalties are often non-negotiable, even for first-time offenders.

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How You Might Be a Victim

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  You might be unfairly charged with an aggravated DUI if the aggravating factor was misunderstood, misrepresented, or improperly applied. For example, if your license was believed to be suspended in error, or if a high BAC reading was based on faulty equipment, the charges may be inflated.

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  You could also be a victim if the arresting officer violated your rights by stopping you without cause, failing to read you your Miranda rights, or improperly collecting chemical evidence. These procedural errors can undermine the entire case against you.

Sometimes, people are wrongly accused of causing injury or endangering others, even when the accident was unavoidable or the other party was at fault. In other situations, individuals with past DUIs are aggressively prosecuted even when the current offense is less serious than it seems. If your prior conviction was invalid or occurred under questionable circumstances, it should not necessarily raise your current charge to a felony.

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  Additionally, people struggling with substance use or mental health challenges may face aggravated DUI charges that treat them as criminals rather than individuals in need of help. In many cases, the system is punitive rather than supportive.

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What You Can Do

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 1. Contact Venganza Law​

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 2. Request a copy of the police report, breathalyzer calibration records, and any blood test results to assess whether the evidence is valid.​​

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 3. Ask Luis at Venganza Law about alternative sentencing options such as alcohol treatment programs, home confinement, or probation instead of jail time.