Washington BUI Defense Attorney

Kirkland Boating Under the Influence Lawyer

Boating Under the Influence (BUI) is a misdemeanor in Washington and carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Any person who is charged with BUI should contact an experienced Washington BUI defense lawyer as soon as possible, to start working on your behalf. At Parnell Defense, PLLC, I offer a free initial consultation where we can discuss your charges, options, and legal strategies.

Most boating under the influence (BUI) citations that I see occur on Lake Washington, south of the I-90 floating bridge and north of Bailey Peninsula. This area is classified as a No Wake Zone under 33 CFR 100.1301 (wake = seven miles per hour or more) and gives the police cart blanche to issue you an infraction, which then gives them the opportunity to investigate for BUI. If your vessel is boarded — remember, just like any DUI stop on the road, the field sobriety tests are voluntary. Don’t do them.

Possible BUI Arguments

• No speed-measuring device was used in determining whether your boat was making a wake.
• The arresting officer has no maritime experience and, thus, no ability to estimate your boat’s speed.
• The eye test (HGN), while conducted on the boat, should have been re-administered on land after a 10-minute waiting period for you to get your land-legs back.
• While operators of motor vehicles on Washington roadways are deemed to have given their consent (RCW 46.61.506) to submit to a breath or blood test when arrested for DUI, operators of boats who have been arrested for BUI have not.

Based on this last argument as well as misinformation that is typically read to the boater by law enforcement, I will usually advise clients to refuse the breath test when they are placed under arrest for boating under the influence. While having to pay a monetary fine by the Coast Guard is a possible consequence for refusing the breath test, depriving the government of breath test evidence is usually far more helpful in a BUI defense case.

Contact a Washington BUI Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged with boating under the influence, contact my law offices in Kirkland or Lynnwood to schedule a free consultation.