When it comes to upholding the law, courts are the ultimate ruling. And sometimes, even just the criminal allegations can get you into a lot of trouble with them. It’s important to remember that the laws have been created for a reason and it doesn’t matter what your reason is if you break one of them. You could end up in criminal court. Yet for some reason, people continue to make the same decisions over and over again despite every warning against it. If you fall into that category, here are two criminal charges that might have you calling for an attorney.
Everybody knows (or should at this point) that drunk driving is against the law. It’s dangerous to both you and other people. You learn about it in driver’s ed, you hear about the tragedies all the time on the news. So why are people still making these decisions? Studies estimate that every day, there are almost 300,000 cases of drunk driving, but only 4,000 culprits will actually get arrested. No one is to blame for these numbers except for those actually driving while intoxicated. And a shocking number of them are under age. Even though approximately 10% of licensed drivers are under 21 (and therefore should not even be legally drinking), they are responsible for 17% of fatal car accidents relating to alcohol. Just the criminal allegations that you are too drunk to drive could have you thrown in jail for a few days while they determine whether to charge you or not. Criminal charges for this offense can include community service, thousands of dollars in damages, or license suspension. And that’s getting off lightly. If you’ve needed a DUI attorney before, or actually harmed someone during your little joy ride you can suspect the punishment to be much harsher for you.
Another charge you don’t want to end up on your record is any kind of relation to prostitution. This isn’t a charge that you hear about usually in terms of the justice system but it still lurks there quietly. It is estimated that somewhere around 80,000 people are arrested annually for soliciting it. It’s important to note that criminal allegations of solicitation or prostitution alone can result in over $6,000 in fines and one year in prison. On the other hand, promotion is an entirely different beast. It could cost you more than $125,000 in fines and up to 5 years of prison time. As you can see from this charges, this is a very serious and rigorous punishment system as opposed to DUIs which can vary depending on certain circumstances. No matter which way you slice involvement in a sex crime, it’s considered more severe and will result in harsher punishments in the criminal justice system.
Don’t become one of these statistics. If you’re old enough to drink, you should be old enough to make responsible decisions about it. This isn’t the case for everyone, but that’s why we have laws in place. And keep in mind that sex crimes are one of the harsher punishments we have in the court system. If you’re willing to risk all that jail time and money, as well as your connection to the crime then you really have nothing left to lose.
