The hours after a DUI arrest in Spokane can feel like a fog. You’ve been processed, fingerprinted, and released, and now you’re trying to understand what just happened and what comes next. The instinct is to wait and see how things unfold. That instinct will cost you.
What most people don’t realize is that a DUI arrest in Washington sets two separate legal processes in motion at once, and one of them has a 7-day deadline that can’t be recovered once it passes. The decisions made in the first few days after an arrest shape every option that remains available. We’ve been representing people facing DUI charges in Spokane since 1980, and the cases where outcomes suffer most are almost always the ones where someone waited too long to act.
Here’s what to do, in the order it matters.
Understand What You’re Actually Facing
A DUI arrest doesn’t open one legal case. It opens two. The criminal case runs through the court system and determines whether you’re convicted and what penalties apply. The administrative case runs through the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) and determines what happens to your driver’s license. These two tracks operate independently, with separate hearings, separate timelines, and separate outcomes. Winning one doesn’t determine anything about the other.
On the criminal side, most first-time DUI charges in Washington are classified as gross misdemeanors under RCW 46.61.502, carrying a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Mandatory minimums are tied to blood alcohol concentration (BAC): higher BAC readings trigger longer minimum jail terms and larger minimum fines. If you have any prior DUI-related conviction within the past 7 years, Washington’s look-back period counts those priors when calculating mandatory minimums, even if the prior offense felt like ancient history. That exposure needs to be assessed right away.
Stay Silent & Ask for an Attorney
These are the two actions that protect the most. Anything you say after an arrest, whether at the scene, during booking, or in casual conversation with an officer, can be used by the prosecution. You have the right to remain silent, and you should use it. Politely decline to answer questions beyond basic identification and ask clearly for an attorney.
One distinction Washington law draws that surprises many people involves the implied consent law under RCW 46.20.308. Roadside field sobriety tests and the portable breath test administered at the scene are voluntary. You can decline them without triggering an automatic penalty. The evidentiary breath or blood test administered after a lawful arrest at a station is different. That test isn’t voluntary under Washington law. Under RCW 46.20.3101, refusing it triggers an automatic license revocation of at least 1 year on a first offense, a significantly longer suspension than most first-time DUI convictions carry. Knowing this distinction before the moment arises matters; knowing it after doesn’t change what’s already in the record.
Act Within 7 Days: The DOL Hearing Deadline
This is the deadline most people miss, and it’s the one with the least flexibility. Under Washington law, you have 7 days from the date of your arrest to submit a written hearing request to the DOL to contest the administrative license suspension. Miss that window, and the suspension goes into effect automatically 30 days after your arrest. Late requests are granted only in very limited circumstances, and there’s no general grace period.
The hearing request currently requires a $375 filing fee, though a fee waiver may be available for those who qualify based on financial hardship. At the hearing, a DOL examiner reviews three things: whether the arrest itself was lawful, whether the officer properly administered the implied consent warnings, and whether the breath or blood test results were valid. These are procedural and evidentiary questions, not questions of guilt, and they’re worth contesting.
The DOL suspension and any license suspension imposed by a court after a criminal conviction are legally separate consequences. Winning the DOL hearing doesn’t prevent a court-ordered suspension if the criminal case ends in conviction, and if the criminal charge is later reduced, that reduction has no effect on an administrative suspension already in place.
Know Where Your Case Will Be Heard
In Spokane, where your DUI case is filed depends on where the arrest happened. If the Spokane Police Department made the arrest within city limits, your case goes to Spokane Municipal Court, located at 1100 W Mallon Ave. If Washington State Patrol made the arrest, or if it occurred outside city limits, the case typically goes to Spokane County District Court. This distinction matters because the two courts operate different programs, follow different procedural schedules, and can affect which resolution paths are available to you.
At Spokane Municipal Court, DUI arraignments are held every day at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom D. Standard arraignments run in courtrooms A and B each Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Arraignment is the hearing where the court advises you of your rights, sets conditions of release, and requires you to enter a plea. Pleading not guilty at arraignment is the standard starting position; it preserves every defense option and commits you to nothing. Pleading guilty at arraignment closes all of those doors immediately.
Defense Options & Resolution Paths
A DUI charge isn’t a predetermined outcome. The strength of the case against you depends on whether the traffic stop was lawful, whether field sobriety tests were administered correctly, whether the breath testing equipment was properly calibrated, and whether the chain of custody for any blood sample was maintained. These are all challengeable points, and any breakdown in the process can affect the evidence available to prosecutors.
Beyond a full defense at trial, several resolution paths exist depending on the facts of the case:
- Reduction to a lesser charge, such as reckless driving, which carries different penalties and avoids the consequences specific to a DUI conviction
- Deferred prosecution, a petition available to first-time offenders that requires completing a 2-year alcohol or drug treatment program in exchange for a stay of prosecution; successful completion results in dismissal
- DUI Court programs, available for eligible repeat offenders at both Spokane Municipal Court and Spokane County District Court; the County’s DUI Intensive Supervision Therapeutic Court takes a minimum of 14 months to complete and can result in an amended charge and avoided jail time
One consequence that doesn’t go away regardless of how a case resolves is an ignition interlock device (IID) requirement, which Washington imposes on most DUI convictions. An IID requires the driver to pass a breath test before the vehicle starts. Washington also requires SR-22 insurance, a certificate of financial responsibility that must be maintained for a period set by the DOL and typically increases insurance premiums significantly.
It’s also worth knowing that Washington doesn’t allow vacation or expungement of a DUI or physical control conviction. Whatever the outcome of this case, it stays on your record permanently, affecting future employment, professional licensing, and any subsequent DUI penalties. That permanence is one of many reasons the outcome of this case is worth fighting for.
The First 7 Days Set the Course
The administrative hearing deadline, the arraignment, the decision about what to say and what not to say, all of it compresses into a very short window after an arrest. Acting early keeps options open. Waiting closes them.
If you or someone you know was arrested for DUI in Spokane, Maxey Law Office is available to walk through the facts of the case and explain what the next steps look like. You can reach us at (509) 652-3330.