2026 Top Rated The RI DUI Guy - Chad F Bank
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A Rhode Island DUI arraignment is the first court appearance after arrest. The judge reads the charges, the defendant enters a plea, and the case gets a pretrial date. It is short, procedural, and not the place to fight the case. But what happens at the arraignment, what the defendant says, and whether counsel is […]
A Rhode Island DUI plea bargain rarely makes the conviction disappear, but it often makes it survivable. Prosecutors in District Court frequently offer reductions to reckless driving in exchange for a guilty plea. That reduction keeps the DUI off the record, avoids the SR-22 high-risk insurance requirement, and shortens or eliminates the license suspension. For […]
A Rhode Island DUI motion to suppress is the defense lawyer's biggest single tool. When police procedures fail to meet legal standards at the stop, the arrest, or the chemical test, that evidence can be excluded from trial. Suppression weakens the prosecution's case, often to the point where the charge collapses or gets reduced to […]
Rhode Island field sobriety test errors are the entry point for a lot of DUI defenses. The three NHTSA-standardized tests (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn, One Leg Stand) have specific administration requirements. When an officer cuts a corner on the protocol, scores a clue that was not there, or runs the test in conditions […]
A Rhode Island CDL DUI ends careers more often than it does drivers. Federal and state rules combine to disqualify a commercial driver license on any DUI conviction, including one committed off the clock in a personal vehicle. The 1-year disqualification is mandatory, the BAC threshold while operating a commercial vehicle is 0.04 instead of […]
A Rhode Island DUI professional license exposure goes well past the fine, the suspension, and the criminal record. For drivers who hold a state-issued license to practice their trade, the conviction triggers a separate review at the licensing board. That review can end the career the criminal sentence merely interrupts. Knowing how the 2026 lookback […]
Rhode Island logged more than 4,800 DUI arrests in 2025, and 2026 is on track for similar numbers. If you are pulled over and charged, the stakes are immediate. Your license can be suspended on the spot. A conviction brings jail time, fines, and a permanent criminal record. A charge is not a conviction. With […]
A DUI charge in Rhode Island is not a simple traffic ticket. It is a criminal offense that triggers a complex set of legal and financial penalties. The Rhode Island DUI penalties 2026 framework mandates strict consequences for drivers caught operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher. Understanding the […]
A man was arrested for DUI while driving a golf cart home from a country club at 11 p.m. He blew a 0.14 blood alcohol content, almost twice the legal limit. The cart had headlights, taillights, and a license plate issued by the town. The case made national news for one reason: what counts as […]
Understanding Rhode Island DUI laws starts with the core statute: R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-27-2. From there, several additional sections layer on — § 31-27-2.1 (chemical test refusal), § 31-27-2.2 (DUI manslaughter), § 31-27-2.6 (DUI with child passenger), and § 31-27-2.8 (ignition interlock). Each piece of the framework shapes a different aspect of how a […]
For centuries, the winter season has been a time for drinking. The tradition carries over to modern-day times. However, that can make the winter a particularly dangerous time of year. Find out everything that you should know about drinking alcohol in the winter. The truth might not be what you expect, The History of Drinking […]
We can all agree that a DUI is a serious crime. Many people associate DUIs with the hilarious videos that appear online of people miserably failing the field sobriety tests. Trying to hold one foot six inches off the ground and falling over. However, DUIs are no laughing matter. Today we are going to take […]
If you think that boating and drinking go hand-in-hand, you may be in for a rude awakening. Although it’s always been illegal in Rhode Island to drive a boat while drinking alcohol, the police are taking the offense more seriously. Known as BUIs, boating under the influence could land you time in jail. Before you […]
The legal landscape around breathalyzer refusal has shifted substantially over the past decade. The U.S. Supreme Court's Birchfield v. North Dakota (2016) ruling reshaped what states can criminalize when drivers decline chemical testing. Rhode Island courts have addressed advisement defects, chain-of-custody questions, and the line between roadside PBT and station chemical test in a series […]
Fighting a Rhode Island DUI is not a single defense — it is a sequence of decisions and motion filings that compound across the case. The decisions made in week one (refusal hearing, retention of counsel) set the trajectory. The motions filed in months two and three (suppression, calibration challenges) determine whether the case collapses […]
Rhode Island enforces a zero-tolerance BAC threshold of 0.02% for drivers under 21 — meaning even a single drink, or sometimes residual alcohol from a recent drink several hours earlier, can trigger a per se DUI violation. The penalty framework largely mirrors the standard adult framework, but the practical consequences extend further: campus disciplinary action, […]
A Rhode Island DUI defense attorney does more than show up at arraignment. The case unfolds across two parallel tracks (Traffic Tribunal and District Court) with separate deadlines on each. The 10-day Traffic Tribunal hearing window starts at arrest. Pretrial motion practice runs through months two and three. Plea negotiation happens at the leverage point […]
Rhode Island's ignition interlock law (RIGL § 31-27-2.8) requires installation of an approved ignition interlock device on the vehicles of certain DUI offenders before driving privileges are restored. The device measures breath alcohol before allowing the engine to start, and intermittently while the vehicle is in motion. For most defendants, the interlock requirement adds 1 […]
When most people think of drunk driving, they think of driving a car. However, there are other vehicles that can get you drunk driving charges. Sometimes, those vehicles are a little less than conventional. Here's a look at some of the strangest vehicles in which people were caught driving under the influence. Driving Under the […]
It seems like drinking culture has become a dominating force in more recent years. There is so much more of our lifestyles attached with drinking than there used to be. It seems more of a trend to meet for drinks, than coffee. Happy hours have become more popular. And if you mention that you don't […]
To most college students, the sight of a campus police officer does not inspire the same fear as a police officer. Many students doubt the power of campus police. However, they may have more power than you think. Find out what the campus authorities can and can't do. What authority does campus police actually have? […]
Men have a reputation for being bad drivers. However, women may be catching up to men when it comes to accidents relating to drinking and driving. Statistics show that, lately, women are the cause for more alcohol-involved deaths. Find out the truth behind drunk driving arrests. The Statistics Behind Drunk Driving Arrests It's impossible to […]
Hiring a lawyer for driving while drunk charges in Rhode Island is a fast decision with consequences that play out over months. The 10-day Traffic Tribunal hearing deadline starts at arrest. Arraignment in District Court follows within 30 days. Suppression motion windows close at progressively tighter intervals through pretrial. The lawyer hired in the first […]
The most consequential breathalyzer refusal court ruling of the past decade is Birchfield v. North Dakota, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. Birchfield drew a constitutional line between breath tests (permissible to criminalize refusal) and blood tests (not permissible to criminalize refusal without a warrant). That line still controls how Rhode Island and […]
A Rhode Island DUI conviction has consequences that extend well beyond the criminal court — particularly for students. The campus disciplinary process operates separately from the criminal case. Financial aid, transcript notations, study abroad eligibility, and graduate school admissions all trigger off the conviction record. For students pursuing professional careers, the disclosure obligations attached to […]
What you say and do during a Rhode Island DUI stop has a direct effect on the strength of your defense weeks later. The officer is collecting evidence from the moment of pull-over — your driving pattern, your speech, your eye movements, your statements. Some of that evidence you cannot control. But the most damaging […]
DUI expungement in Rhode Island is not available. RIGL § 12-1.3-2 specifically excludes DUI convictions from the state's expungement statute. The conviction stays on the criminal record permanently — visible to background checks, professional licensing boards, employer screenings, and graduate school admissions for life. Understanding this rule shapes the entire defense strategy on a Rhode […]
