Las Vegas DUI Attorney

Many DUI cases begin with subjective roadside evaluations. Defense issues often involve whether field sobriety tests were administered correctly, whether conditions affected performance, and whether officers relied on unsupported assumptions.

Chemical testing is a major focus of DUI litigation. We closely examine breath and blood tests, including calibration, contamination, handling, and whether procedures followed required protocols.

DUI cases involve both criminal court and administrative penalties. A DUI arrest can trigger driver’s license revocation through the DMV, even before the criminal case ends.

When prosecutors allege injuries or prior offenses, charges may escalate to DUI with injury or felony DUI, dramatically increasing exposure. These cases require immediate and aggressive defense planning.

A DUI conviction can affect coverage, rates, and insurability. We help clients understand how DUI and auto insurance issues may impact them long after the case ends.

Nevada counts prior DUIs within seven years. A second DUI in that window is still a misdemeanor, but second and subsequent DUI offenses carry higher minimum penalties and a longer license revocation. A third can be charged as a felony. In felony DUI charges, we check every prior the state relies on, since one that falls outside the window or cannot be proven changes the charge.

In a DUI involving injury to another person, proving impairment is not enough. The state must show you did something the law prohibits, or failed to do something it requires, while driving, and that this caused the injury. The other driver’s actions and road conditions can break that link.

DUI causing substantial bodily harm is a felony even on a first offense, with harm defined as an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement or long-term loss of a body function, or causes prolonged physical pain. That makes the medical records central. DUI causing death falls under the same law. Neither allows probation, and prosecutors cannot trade the charge for a plea to something lesser unless it lacks probable cause or cannot be proven.

People often call fatal cases DUI manslaughter charges, but Nevada’s vehicular manslaughter law is a different offense. It covers deaths caused by simple negligence and is a misdemeanor. A driver with three or more prior DUI convictions who causes a death can face vehicular homicide.

Nevada covers driving under the influence of drugs in two ways. The state can argue a drug impaired your driving, or rely on a blood or urine result at or above a set limit for drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine. A valid prescription is no defense to an impairment claim. If officers also find drugs in the car, the case can become a DUI combined with a drug charge, so a successful challenge to the stop or search can weaken both.

The limit in a commercial vehicle is 0.04. A DUI with a commercial driver’s license brings in federal rules. A first DUI conviction, even in your personal car, disqualifies you from commercial driving for one year, and a second means a lifetime disqualification. For drivers under 21, a result of 0.02 or more can suspend a license without a DUI conviction, and at 0.08 or more an underage DUI falls under the same law as any other DUI.