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Jail for a DUI in Brunswick County

When someone is going to jail for a DUI in Brunswick, they are taken to the Meherrin River Regional Jail, where booking and paperwork will also take place. The mandatory minimum sentence is the lowest possible amount of time the court can give a person by law based on the charge, although it can be based on the individual’s record of offenses.

A DUI is a Class 1 Misdemeanor with the minimum amount of jail time is none through being released on bail. The maximum amount of time that the court can give a person on a first or second offense is 12 months of misdemeanor time. This time factors out to six months to serve while taking good behavior into account. If you are facing any of these penalties, it is imperative you speak with a distinguished DUI attorney about your case.

Environment of a Brunswick Jail

The jail houses inmates from Brunswick County, Dinwiddie County, and Mecklenburg County, which are all rural areas. It is difficult to compare with the environment of many urban jails, but the rural area does not have as many gang issues which are common to urban jails. The frequent conflict with people being held in the local jail is that they may be related to an officer or to people in the administration.

Expectations after Being Arrested

The individual may not necessarily be released on bail after going to jail for a DUI in Brunswick.They would see a Magistrate (quasi-judicial official), but there is no full-time Magistrate. After a person is arrested, they are taken to an office and wait for a Magistrate to pop-up on a television to review the allegations that have been brought against them, a quick review of their previous criminal record (if there is one), the seriousness of the charges brought against them, and decision whether or not they should be held in the jail or can be released on bail.

Presence of Breath Tests in Jail

There is no expectation to submit a breath test if an individual is going to jail for a DUI in Brunswick. The Preliminary Breath Test (“PBT”) is on the side of the road before being arrested. The Deputy or Trooper will drive them to the jail and the individual is given the Intoxilyzer, which will give the more accurate result.

They can potentially give their PBT and be 45 minutes away from jail, giving them a bit more time to have the results go down because the PBT is inadmissible. That would be the first thing they do when they to the jail before seeing the Magistrate, or going to Intake or Booking.

Impact of Preliminary Breath Tests

By law, the results of the Preliminary Breath Test (“PBT”) are inadmissible in court and cannot be used against a person, as part of the totality of the circumstances, as far as an arrest. The results that can be used against them is actually a Certificate of Analysis from the more accurate machine, the Intoxilyzer, that has been initiated by the Commonwealth; they often have two different results. The Intoxilyzer is more accurate and is usually taken much later, which can be very helpful.

Jail-Related Penalties for a DUI in Brunswick

Going to jail for a DUI in Brunswick is not typical for a first offense. That is pretty standard for all of the surrounding counties as well.  If a person has a terrible record, a murder charge and a bunch of other failures to appear, the Magistrate can hold them on that DUI.

However, the Commonwealth in Brunswick County, for a standard DUI First, is going to offer suspended jail time with minimum fines as required by law; VASAP; good behavior; and license suspension.

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