Hiring a DUI Lawyer
Whether a Virginia DUI charge needs a lawyer, what representation costs, what a defense consists of, and how a first offense differs.
3 guides
A Virginia DUI is not a traffic ticket. Driving while intoxicated under Va. Code § 18.2-266 is a Class 1 misdemeanor on a first or second offense, which means it is punishable by confinement, and that single fact changes everything about representation. Because jail is on the table, Va. Code § 19.2-157 requires the court to tell an unrepresented defendant about the right to counsel before the case goes forward, and Va. Code § 19.2-159 sets out the indigency test that decides whether a lawyer is appointed at public expense. A driver with a plain speeding ticket gets none of that, because an infraction carries no jail.
The pages here work through the decision rather than the sales pitch: what the stages of a Virginia DUI case are and where a lawyer's work actually falls, what private representation costs across the Commonwealth and why the range is so wide, what a defense is built out of, and what is different about a first offense. This site names no attorney and no firm, publishes no rankings and takes no referral fees. Where a reader needs to find counsel, the Virginia State Bar's own lawyer directory and its Virginia Lawyer Referral Service are the places to look.
All guides
- Do You Need a Virginia DUI Attorney?
A Virginia DUI attorney defends a Class 1 misdemeanor, not a ticket. What one does at each stage, what it costs, and when a court appoints one.
- What a Virginia DUI Defense Lawyer Actually Does
What a Virginia DUI defense lawyer argues about: the five clauses of § 18.2-266, the 0.15 and 0.20 jail thresholds, and what a judge cannot suspend.
- First-Time DUI in Virginia: Do You Need an Attorney?
What a first time DUI charge in Virginia carries, and where an attorney fits: the $250 mandatory minimum and the 0.15 and 0.20 jail steps.