Idaho law states that all DUI arrests will have the consequence of
driver's license suspension. This can only be halted if the individual
files for an administrative hearing within seven days of the arrest.
Such a request can be made through fax, personal delivery, or mail to
Idaho's Transportation Department. Idaho law states that drivers must
submit to blood alcohol content testing through implied consent.
Individuals, however, do have the right to refuse a blood alcohol
content test upon a DUI arrest. This will result in the police
officer's seizure of the individual's driver's license.
A permit can then be issued on a temporary basis for seven days when a
hearing is requested. The court may file charges during the hearing to
suspend a license for one hundred eighty days for refusing to take a
blood alcohol content test. If there is a second refusal in a five-year
time period, the individual may have his or her license suspended for a
minimum of one year. A driver's license will be seized when an
evidentiary test is failed. Under these circumstances a temporary
permit can be used for thirty days.
Driving Under the Influence Charges
Idaho courts state that an individual can be convicted of two different
kinds of drunk driving charges. The first is the under the influence
charges where a prosecuting attorney must prove to the court that the
individual was too impaired to drive safely. This can be proven through
the individual's physical appearance, field sobriety tests, driving
patterns, and other necessary factors.
The other charge for drunk driving is based solely on blood alcohol
content levels and is called per se laws. Under these charges the
prosecuting attorney need not prove that the individual was impaired
while driving but only that his or her blood alcohol content was above
the legal limit. Idaho's legal limit is 0.08 percent, but some cases
can be filed for endangering others while having a blood alcohol
content percentage under the limit.
Prior offenses will result in harsher punishments, however if five
years has passed, a past DUI conviction cannot be used as a prior
offense. Having a blood alcohol content percentage above 0.20 percent
will result in harsher punishments, even if the individual is a
first-time offender.
DUI Consequences
First-time offenders will often receive a fine up to one thousand
dollars, incarceration between two days and six months, a suspended
driver's license for one hundred eighty days, alcohol evaluation,
attendance to Victims' Panel, and between one and two years of
probation. A second offense can earn the same consequences as a first
offense but have increases to a two thousand-dollar fine, ten days to
one year in jail, and a year of driver's license suspension.
A third offense can have a five thousand-dollar fine, driver's license
suspension of five years, and up to five years of incarceration.
DUIs and Minors
Minors who have been arrested for DUI offenses will have their driver's
licenses automatically suspended for one year. Minors may also have
their driver's licenses suspended until they reach the age of twenty-one.