New DUI Laws for 2016

The Washington State Legislature has passed two new bills that further increase penalties for DUIs. Over the past few years Washington has created more aggressive laws to punish DUI offenders than virtually any other state, these two laws will further that trend.

The first bill increases the classification of a felony DUI from class C to class B. A class B felony has a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. This doubles the maximum penalty from a class C felony.

A DUI is charges as a felony when a person is has 4 or more DUIs within the prior 10 years or a person charged with DUI has a prior conviction of vehicular assault or vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

The second law reduces the amount of time a person has to request a Department of Licensing hearing from 20 days to only 7 days. Additionally, it sets that hearing within 30 days, down from 60 days. This particular law goes into effect January 1, 2019

These new laws take effect June 9th, 2016.

Feb 29, 2024

by GC on Kris Carrasco Attorney at Law

Out of State Restraining Order

I was in a horrible situation where the mother of my son had me arrested on false claims so she could kidnap our son and move to Washington from California. She filed a restraining order when she got to Washington, listing our son as a protected party and claimed I had been abusive to her and him, writing a statement filled with lies and stories going back many years. She went so far as to have her family members, whom had never left Washington submit statements as well. The whole thing was disturbing and as a result I wasn't able to see my son for months. Kris didn't get dragged into arguing the meritless claims she made but instead focused on the actual law. Washington did not have jurisdiction over me and as a result a restraining order was not legal. A temp judge granted the restraining order and Kris made the judge explain on the stand multiple times how Washington had jurisdiction. She could not. He filed a motion for reconsideration shortly after outlining case law and making it clear that the temp judge had made a mistake. A commissioner reviewed and granted the motion for reconsideration. As a result, I was able to be reunited with my son, 102 days later. Kris is an amazing lawyer and I can't thank him enough for what he did for me and my son. Don't hesitate to hire him.