DUI Report
 

Hello everybody. I am currently seeking legal advise from a professional/experienced person. Almost 2 years ago(9/07) I was arrested for DUI. I was convicted almost a year later (8/09) but never filed a report to the FAA(yes i know, i am an idiot). I really want to do everything legit but with me trying to move on and put it in the past, I forgot some key elements that would keep it in the past(ie, reporting it to the Feds). Am I making too much of this? Am I not making enough of it? Should I hire a lawyer? Should I just report it? I really want to do this the right way, I just made a mistake and over looked a key element. Thanks all for your professional advise.

Seems like you've answered your own question.

yea, i thought so but the FAA website said it is not necessary unless they have found out. on the other hand, i don't wanna hire a lawyer if not necessary. can't really afford it.

If you hire an aviation lawyer, he can probably arrange something without penalty based on an "honest mistake". It helps that this is fairly recent and it is critical that you approach the FAA before they find out on their own.

IMPORTANT: The FAA does a criminal check when you renew your medical )it is done by OKC after your AME issues your medical. Better get on this before you get your next medical. If you recently got a medical by some chance, better call that lawyer tomorrow! If the FAA finds it before you tell them, you are screwed.

thanks for the advise rick and twin. just hard to have to hire a lawyer with the way things are now but i gotta save myself. i'll try to get a free consult and see if necessary. the faa site says get in touch with them before they get in touch with me but i don't know if that is a trap to screw me. it sux, i tried so damn hard to stay out the radar with the Feds and with one bad decision of helping a wasted friend out(i only had 2 beers) i just landed myself in the center of the radar with my light blinking.

Understand that the FAA will make an inquiry to the National Driver Register 9http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.f27748441b1ad09d07b2e610cba046a0//) to which all states which receive federal highway funds (all of them) are required to report.

So, although I guess there's always the possibility of an error, the likelihood is way up there that the FAA will find out.

As others suggested, talk to a lawyer about the best way to smooth the correction of your record with the FAA. There are too many ways you can trap yourself without realizing it. For example,
I'm betting that just about every person who has ever been picked up on a DUI has said that. Say that to someone in authority and they are almost guaranteed not to believe you.

For 2 beers to get you a DUI, you would have to weigh around 70 pounds...... Even 3 beers @ 160 lbs keeps you below the legal limit, but 4 beers and 160 lbs will get you a DUI.

Yeah...I would hire an aviation lawyer for this one like rickair suggested. I got one question for you though w/o trying to get all into your business....what key element was that you overlooked?

There are many ways they can get you...admit to two beers during the traffic stop, then fail their roadside sobriety tests. At that point, they have enough evidence to convict even without a BAC. Actaully the BAC might have saved you since it would be below the limit for most folks.

Of course few people can pass a field sobriety test...drunk or sober. All the cops I know have to practice those tests regularly so as to be able to perform them in court when asked to by the defense attorney.

By key elements, i was referring to getting reporting it to the FAA. Understand it is not something I am proud of and I just wanna get past it but somehow, I overlooked reporting it which got me past it but didn't keep me past it.


As far as how many beers I had, i can honestly say I had 2 beers. Regardless of what, they still stuck me with the DUI. I don't know if the machine was not working or what but I still got convicted. Found out later on that there wasn't any report on the incident which made it almost impossible for me to meet certain requirements. Only record they had was I got arrested and I went to court and was convicted.