028 New Mexico DWI
Arrested & Booked for DWI?
Are you facing DWI charges? Was someone thrown in jail for DWI who needs your help?
If you are reading this page, you need not be reminded of New Mexico public service warnings like “you booze, you cruise, you lose.” Each year “you lose” means that, with public pressure, our legislature enacts stiffer and stiffer laws that increase both minimum and maximum penalties for those convicted of DWI. In recent years, the police have been arresting other passengers in the car with a DWI driver as parties to a crime.
In New Mexico, what are the consequences if you are found guilty of DWI? If convicted, the mandatory minimum penalties are severe even if your lawyer persuades the prosecutor and the judge not to impose any greater sentence. Sometimes the lawyer will find a legal error in the case requiring dismissal of the DUI charge, and on occasion the defense will be strong enough to proceed either to a jury trial or a bench trial.
Sometimes the prosecutor will consider dropping an aggravated DWI down to a simple DWI, or a second or third DWI offense down to a first or second, in order to lower the mandatory minimums. Often lesser charges will be dismissed by agreement of the parties and, on some occasions, the judge will consider electronic monitoring instead of a mandatory jail sentence. In borderline cases the lawyer may be able to negotiate for a “deferred to dismissal” plea which means if you complete the terms of probation the charges would be dismissed off of your record for employment purposes. Here are some of the minimums; click any underlined term for more information:
