Have you heard about friends or family getting a DUI charge reduced to a Wet Reckless?  This will tell you what it means, when it’s done, and how it can help you.

What is a “Wet Reckless”?

A “wet reckless” is a nickname for a charge of reckless driving involving alcohol or drugs.  It is a common reduced charged from a plea bargain.

Will the prosecutor agree to a Wet Reckless?

There are no hard and fast rules as to when a prosecutor will agree to a Wet Reckless plea bargain, but your chances are higher depending on your BAC and whether there are evidence problems in the prosecution’s case against you.

What are the advantages of a Wet Reckless plea bargain?

• Shorter max penalty:  The maximum jail time is shorter, so if you violate probation then you face a shorter max jail penalty.

• Shorter minimum penalty: If this is your second or third DUI within a ten year period, then certain mandatory jail sentences will apply. If you enter a plea to wet reckless instead of DUI, then the conviction only requires five days in jail regardless of your prior history.

• Shorter probation period.  Wet reckless often has a shorter probation period than a typical DUI.

• DUI School:  You’ll likely have a shorter DUI school with wet reckless than DUI.  

• Fines:  Penalty assessments that are lower for Wet Reckless than DUI may make the total cost of a Wet Reckless less expensive than a DUI.

• License advantages:  A wet reckless plea may help out on the license suspension from the court, but there is also the DMV license suspension – so it may or may not impact your driver’s license.

Don’t get too excited about a Wet Reckless because it still packs a punch in many ways:

• Insurance Company: The insurance company will likely still ding your record with the Wet Reckless.
• Repeat Offender:  If you get another DUI within ten years after your Wet Reckless, you’ll still be considered a repeat offender, even though Wet Reckless is different than a DUI.

• License Suspension: The DMV can still take your license.  

Do not give up just because you have been charged with a DUI.  There may be a myriad of defenses that you can use to inspire reasonable doubt as to the elements that the prosecution must prove to convict you. In a previous article, we discussed some of the Best Common Defenses and Arguments for a DUI.  Here we examine a few ideas to get you thinking outside the box if your case has rare or unusual circumstances. An attorney will be able to evaluate your individual circumstances to spot any defenses that might be successful.

Were you actually “driving”?

In some cases, the police officer didn’t see you driving, so a defense to the DUI may lie in rebutting the circumstantial evidence that you were driving.

• Did you deny driving?
• Were there other people in the car?
• Was the car discovered when it was legally parked?

Watch out here, though, because if the officer observed even a slight movement of the vehicle, then that counts as driving.  Also, watch for circumstantial evidence that that prosecution may use to show that you were driving – i.e. your car was warm, the keys were in the ignition, or close proximity to an accident.

Were you under the influence when driving?

In some instances, such as a hit and run collision or single vehicle collision, the police officer may not have caught up to you at the time of the incident.  If you were drinking right after the alleged incident, then this can call into question whether you were actually under the influence at the time you were driving.  Along similar lines, if your BAC was under the legal limit, but rose to a higher value after you were no longer driving, then this could be another point of defense that you were not under the influence when actually driving.

Do you have any special medical or physical conditions that may have impacted the testing?

Think about any challenges that apply to you specifically.  Do you have a condition that may have affected the blood or breath testing?  Do you have a physical condition that would have impaired your ability on the field sobriety testing?  Was there anything usual about the environmental conditions where the tests were administered?

Police conduct?

In some cases, police misconduct can provide a valuable defense in a case.  Were statements made to indicate racial profiling for the stop? Did the police act improperly in the way that the tests were conducted? Was there anything amiss in the way evidence was handled?

Extenuating circumstances?

Were you forced to drive by some emergency?  Were you given the alcohol or drugs without your consent or awareness?  Although extenuating circumstances may or may not provide a defense to the charge, they can be important argument points in making the case for a plea bargain with the prosecutor.

Although each case varies, this article will cover some of the best DUI arguments and defenses to consider when analyzing your DUI charge

Motion to Suppress Evidence

If your attorney files a Motion to Suppress Evidence and it is granted, then that evidence can’t be used against you by the prosecutor.  This is often used in the context of the traffic stop, where the motion argues that the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion to stop you.  If successful, this can be a powerful arrow in your DUI defense arsenal.

Legitimate Reasons for the Signs of Intoxication

Are there legitimate reasons for the signs that the officer observed, which are circumstantial evidence against you?  For example, do you have dry eyes that cause redness? Do you have a speech impediment that causes slurred speech? Could your symptoms be explained by fatigue?  Plausible explanations for the symptoms can be a good argument to oppose the evidence of intoxication.

Field Sobriety Tests

There are many ways to attack the field sobriety test evidence:  Do you have a physical limitation or are you taking medications that inhibit your ability to successfully complete?  Were they adequately explained and administered by the officer? Were there environmental factors such as weather, traffic, or the surface where the tests were performed that could impact the testing?

Faulty Testing

Here again, there are many ways to attack the reliability of blood or breath testing.  Was the device working? Were there medications or medical conditions that could have impacted the testing? Was the testing done properly? Was the evidence placed in a proper chain of custody?

* Acid Reflux Defense – this is a subset argument that alleges that acid reflux (a medical condition) can cause the BAC reading to be falsely higher

* Rising BAC level – a valuable subset argument to testing is the rising BAC defense, which alleges that the BAC rose between the time the defendant was driving and when the test was administered.  

    This is not an exhaustive list of DUI defenses, as the possibilities are as individual and unique as the particular facts of your case.  This list explains some of the commonly utilized defenses to help you and your attorney begin building a proper defense strategy.