Milios Defense

Seattle DUI & Criminal Defense Attorneys

Open 24/7 – Call or Text
206-745-2371
Email Us

  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Attorneys
      • Tim Milios
    • Free Consultations
    • Legal Fees
    • Domestic Violence Defense
  • Process
    • Jurisdictions
    • Arrest & Processing
    • Arraignment
    • Pretrial Hearing
    • Motions & Evidentiary Hearings
    • Trial
    • Review Hearings
    • Potential Outcomes
      • Record Expungement
      • Quashing Warrants
    • Resources
      • BAC Calculator
      • Glossary
      • Industry Partners
      • Legal Resources
      • WA Court Info
      • WA DOL Info
    • DUI Self Help Guide
      • Alcohol Treatment Evaluations
    • FAQs
  • Penalties
    • DUI Sentencing Grid
      • First Offense DUI
      • Second Offense DUI
      • Third Offense DUI
    • Jail
    • Work Release
    • Fines
    • License Suspension
    • Vehicle Forfeiture
    • Alcohol/Drug Treatment
    • Probation
    • Ignition Interlock
    • Aggravating Sentencing Factors
    • Traveling to Canada
    • Moving to Another State
    • Employment Consequences
    • Immigration Consequences
  • Laws
    • WA State DUI Laws
    • Refusing Breathalyzers
    • Marijuana/Drug DUI
    • Minor DUI
    • Boating DUI
    • Physical Control Laws
    • Other Criminal Traffic Offenses
      • Seattle Reckless Driving Attorney
      • Seattle Reckless Endangerment Attorney
      • Negligent Driving: First Degree (Neg 1)
      • Driving on a Suspended License
      • Seattle Hit and Run Attorney
      • Seattle Vehicular Assault Attorney
      • Seattle Felony DUI Attorney
      • Vehicular Homicide
    • Ignition Interlock Laws
    • Deferred Prosecution
      • Can You Defer Prosecution for a DUI in Washington?
  • DOL
    • DOL Hearing Procedure
    • DOL Hearing Rules
    • License Suspension
    • CDL & DUI
    • SR-22 Insurance
    • Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO)
  • Blog
  • Contact

New Washington DUI Laws Address Reckless Driving, Home Detention And Huffing

April 10, 2012 by Tim Milios

On March 29, 2012, Governor Gregoire signed into law Substitute House Bill 2443. Its provisions take affect on August 1, 2012. Defined as “an act relating to increasing accountability of persons who drive impaired,” it deals with a number of different DUI related topics. The most practical changes from an everyday standpoint deal with amendments to the reckless driving statute, the penalty phase of a DUI conviction as it relates to home detention, and the creation of a “Driving While Huffing” statute.

Reckless Driving

The most important change grants an individual credit for any DUI related administrative suspension toward a suspension for reckless driving when the reckless driving conviction was the result of a reduction from the original DUI charge. It also allows for the driver to obtain an ignition interlock license in such cases. This part of the new DUI law is fully addressed in Reductions from DUI to Reckless Driving No Longer To Result in Additional License Suspensions.

Home Detention

Another major change gives people facing what was once mandatory home detention the option of serving that potion of the sentence as jail for a much lesser duration. For many people, one of the most significant consequences of the second or subsequent DUI conviction in Washington is the mandatory period of home detention or electronic home monitoring. For a second DUI offense within seven years a person would be looking at a mandatory 60-90 days of home detention to be served after the automatic jail sentence. On a third offense or more, that home detention would increase to 120-150 days. For many, having to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and be tethered to their home for months is worse than a much shorter period of work release. To that end, for years, DUI lawyers have attempted to circumvent that requirement by asking the sentencing court to convert home monitoring. The sentencing requirements for first time offenders gave courts a guideline to do just that.

The Washington DUI Sentencing Grid allows a court, in its discretion to convert one or two days in jail for a first time offender to 15-30 days of home detention. A ratio of 15-1. Accordingly, many courts had agreed to convert the home detention for a second or subsequent offense back to jail by that same 15-1 ratio. The problem was that many court used a more restrictive conversion (10-1, 6-1, 5-1) and other simply refused to convert it at all, believing they didn’t have the authority to do so.

Under SHB 2443, courts now have the discretion to convert home detention back to jail time, or work release, at that 15-1 ratio. So instead of a mandatory 60 days of EHM, the court can order an additional 4 days of jail, or from 90 days of EHM to 6 days in jail, etc. With reductions for good time credits, those number could drop even further. It is likely that a person would have to request the conversion but the way the statute is drafted, it appears to give the court the option of doing so even absent such a request. Since the statute doesn’t take effect until August 1, 2012, practitioners with a client so situated may wish to prolong the process a few months though it is possible that courts will recognize their discretion in advance of the effective date.

Driving After “Huffing”

I’m not sure how often someone has been pulled over in the past who was under the suspicion of driving under the influence of inhalants and subsequently released because there was no specific statute on point dealing with that specific situation. Not often I would assume. Be that as it may, there now is a specific statute in Washington that criminalizes driving while huffing, or driving under the influence of chemical inhalants. So be forewarned. Don’t huff and drive.

Categories: Uncategorized

« Reductions From DUI to Reckless Driving No Longer To Result In Additional License Suspensions
Fee Increase to Request Administrative DOL Hearing »

Recent Posts

  • Many Washington Courts Allowing Zoom Video Hearings During Covid-19 Pandemic June 26, 2020
  • Seattle Municipal Court to Return from Covid-19 Closure, Re-Opening in Phases June 15, 2020
  • Inslee Waives DUI Statute of Limitations During Covid-19 Closure April 15, 2020
  • Alcohol Treatment During COVID-19 State of Emergency March 24, 2020
  • Supreme Court Strikes Down Hailey’s Law as Unconstitutional October 17, 2019

Our Firm

Attorneys
Jurisdictions
Initial Office Consultations
Fees
Contact Us

Resources

Legal Resources
Washington Courts
Department of Licensing
Client Resources

FAQs

The DUI Stop and Arrest
DOL Questions
DUI Penalties
DUI Court Questions

Seattle DUI Attorneys and Lawyers Serving Washington State | P: 206-745-2371 | 1325 Fourth Avenue #170, Seattle, WA 98101
Use of this legal website constitutes acceptance of the Milios Defense Terms of Service. The material on this site is for informational purposes only regarding DUI legal issues, and is not a substitute for legal advice provided by an attorney or lawyer and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. © 2025 Milios Defense, LLP. We want to be your Seattle DUI Attorney. All rights reserved.