The laws against driving under the influence (DUI) in Wyoming have always been tough. For example, Wyoming has anti-plea bargaining laws. This means that prosecutors cannot reduce or dismiss DUI charges without filing a motion in court. And in 2009, Wyoming legislated tougher DUI penalties with Senate Bill 88. Among other things, the Bill imposed penalties on people who aid drivers in disabling or defeating an ignition interlock device (IID), as well as providing that anyone convicted of aggravated homicide while operating or driving a vehicle will not be granted an IID-restricted license. Additionally, beginning July 1, 2010, Senate File 19 increases Wyoming’s “look-back” period from five to 10 years. This means that if you receive a second DUI conviction within 10 years of the first conviction, you will face harsher penalties. Conversely, if your second conviction is more than 10 years after your first, the second conviction will be treated as if it were your first.

Drunk driving in Wyoming will trigger a criminal case in the courts and an administrative case with the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The criminal case determines the jail time, fines and other DUI punishments you will face, whereas the administrative case determines the impact to your driver’s license. The administrative case precedes the criminal case, and your driving privileges may be suspended for as little as 90 days, or revoked for as long as three years, depending on the offense. When faced with the potential of losing such a freedom, and all the ramifications that go with it, you might want to find the best drunk driving attorneys available.

If you are convicted of your first DUI in Wyoming in criminal court, you can be sent to jail for up to six months, or fined up to $750, or both, and you will be required to undergo substance abuse assessment at your own expense. If your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .15 or above (a BAC of .08 is the legal limit), you will be required to install an IID in your vehicle, again at your own expense. Finally, your license will be suspended for 90 days.

A second DUI offense brings a jail sentence from seven days to six months, fines from $250 to $750, the installation of an IID for one year, substance abuse assessment, and a license suspension for one year.

Your third Wyoming DUI carries a jail term from 30 days to six months, fines from $750 to $3,000, two years with an IID, substance abuse assessment, and a license suspension of three years. Other possibilities include probation, an in-patient treatment program, and/or an alcohol education program.

When is a DUI a felony in Wyoming? The fourth DUI conviction. Convicted felons lose their right to vote and to bear arms; they also are barred from holding certain jobs, and have a harder time obtaining loans. The jail time for a fourth offense is up to two years, and you can be fined up to $10,000. You will also be required to have an IID installed in your vehicle for life, but you may apply to have it removed after five years. And who knows how long your license will be suspended. It is also possible that you will be sentenced to probation, an in-patient treatment program, a substance abuse assessment, and/or an alcohol education program. Isn’t it time you found a DUI defense attorney?

The University of Wyoming, located in the city of Laramie, is quite literally positioned above nearly every other major university in the United States as it sits high on the Laramie Plains at an elevation of 7,200 feet. Founded in September of 1886 the college sits close to a mile and a half above sea level and is the product of a land-grant university initiative from the late 1800s.

The term land grant university is the common vernacular for institutions of higher learning that received federal funds as a result of the congressional Morrill Acts of Parliament 1862 and more recently in 1890. Even during the latter parts of the nineteenth century many of the United States was unoccupied and filled with an abundance of government controlled land for lack of a better use. In an effort to bolster education the federal government granted upstart and existing universities land through a process that related giving control of the land to the states with the regulations that the states would then either sell the land to raise educational funds or directly develop the land for higher educational purposes. The specific purpose of this act was to develop colleges where practical trades like engineering, agriculture, science, and other endeavors related to the industrial revolution could be learned. Up until this point in history universities predominately focused on what was then considered classical studies and is today largely referred to as liberal arts.

With a growing student population the University of Wyoming now boasts an enrollment of over 13,000 pupils. The opportunity for citizens of the state to send their children to college within such close relative proximity was not a luxury the residents always had. The importance of having such an important institution within the state boundaries was a fact not lost on the locals who had a Latin phrase inscribed on the landmark building at the time of the September, 1886 opening. The Latin phrase which can still be read today (despite numerous renovations to the Old Main) translates to, “He need not go away from home for instruction.” Despite the use of the pronoun “he” the University of Wyoming admitted a coeducational class of 42 women and men when classes began.