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Take me out to the ballgame

The baseball season recently passed its halfway mark. For many Leesburg residents, that means games for the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles (both in first place at the moment this is being written) become increasingly important as pennant races heat up.

For many people, having a beer and a hot dog at the ballpark is an integral part of the game experience. Sometimes, however, fans get caught up in the experience and have a beer or two too many, which can mean a post-game drunk driving charge.

In Virginia, especially, the penalties for a DUI conviction can be severe, which is why it is so important to carefully consider the choice of attorney before entering the court system.

It’s also important to get in the habit of appointing a designated driver every time you head to either an Orioles game or a Nationals game – or any other event at which you are going to consume alcohol. At the ballparks, there’s an in-stadium designated driver program called Good Sport.

According to a Washington Redskins press release, the program encourages people to pledge to be a good sport by serving as designated driver for members of their group attending the game. During one game a couple of seasons ago, nearly 2,000 fans took the pledge. If you consider that each designated driver helps two or three or more friends or family members home without incident, you can see that a lot of people were taking steps to avoid legal problems after the game.

For those facing charges, however, the problems are here and now and strict legal sanctions loom. Experienced DUI attorneys are available to help drivers fight to retain their licenses and freedoms.

Source: Anheuser Busch, “Responsible Drinking,” retrieved July 2014

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