A first DUI in West Virginia: what it can result in

West Virginia splits the first offense by reading, and the difference is between "may" and "shall". Driving in an impaired state, or impaired with a blood alcohol concentration below fifteen hundredths of one percent, is a misdemeanor for which a person may be confined for up to six months and shall be fined between $100 and $500. At fifteen hundredths or above the language changes: the jail term shall be not less than two days nor more than six months, and it must include at least twenty-four hours of actual confinement. Either way the licence is revoked for six months — unless the driver takes the state up on its alternative, which is participation in the test and lock programme, the interlock scheme West Virginia runs in place of part of the revocation.

Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is up to six months at the ordinary tier; at least two days above 0.15%. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.

Misdemeanor: up to six months at the ordinary tier; at least two days above 0.15%, and a fine of $100 to $500, rising to $200–$1,000 above 0.15%. The range is set by W. Va. Code § 17C-5-2(e), (f); § 17C-5A-3a, and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.

West Virginia calls it the Alcohol and Drug Test and Lock Program. A camera-equipped device goes in every vehicle you own or use, and it blocks the engine at 0.025% or above while logging every start attempt, every random test while you drive, and any attempt to get round it. You have six months from applying to get it fitted. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by West Virginia DMV.