Answer:
At the Wagner Law Firm, West Virginia’s only exclusive DUI defense firm in the entire state, I receive a host of questions from prospective clients, members of the community, friends, family, et cetera.
At the Wagner Law Firm, West Virginia’s only exclusive DUI defense firm in the entire state, I receive a host of questions from prospective clients, members of the community, friends, family, et cetera. “Harley, what if my keys aren’t in the ignition?”
Is always one of them. I’ll tell them, “Well, that depends.”
There can be certain situations where that can be very helpful and other situations where it’s not relevant at all and/or hurtful. For instance, you pull over on the side of the road because you realize you’ve had too much to drink.
You put the car in park, and you take the keys out of the ignition. Law enforcement rolls up on you.
That’s not how we’re going to carry the day is, “My keys weren’t in the ignition,” defense. You come out of a restaurant or bar, and you realize you’ve had too much to drink.
It’s a January morning. You turn the car on for some heat.
You turn the car off. The car’s warmed up.
You take the keys out of the ignition, and you go to sleep for a couple of hours. Now, that can be a great defense.
You never moved the car. In West Virginia, they have to show that you only got where you’re at to have just recently driven and did so while under the influence of alcohol.
That’s why it’s important that you have an experienced DUI attorney that can get to know you and your case and every aspect of it so you can know right out of the gate, long before we get near court, does the keys not being in my ignition, along with 100 potential other defenses, is that one going to help us, hurt us, or is it irrelevant? An experienced DUI attorney is going to go through that right out of the gate with you.
Give us a call if you need help. We’re here, and we would like to help.