>>A DUI by itself (I’m not talking about vehicular homicide, for example) is not a criminal offense in my state. I’ll bet it’s not a criminal offense in MOST states.
You are TERRIBLY mistaken about this. DWI is a criminal offense in ALL states. You can find this out by a very easy google search.
States have different ways of codifying criminal laws. Texas, for example, has a penal code, a code of criminal procedure, and other statutes that intermittently list offenses. Just because something isn’t in the penal code doesn’t mean it isn’t a crime when you violate it. The same is true for other states.
I don’t know what state you are in, but I think if you look closely, you’ll see that your state writes their laws in similar ways. So, an offense in the motor vehicle code may very well be a criminal offense.
When government is involved, there is almost always individuals rights and liberties at play regardless of whether there are criminal offense statutes at issue. Most government sanctions require due process, so there is a right involved. You may not have a constitutional right to drive, but you DO have a right to due process if you are denied certain things. That’s why there is no such thing as a privilege given by the government.
I live in New Jersey. Apparently it’s one of the states where DUI is NOT a criminal offense. A DUI charge is adjudicated in traffic court here, not criminal court.
DWI is definitely not a criminal offense in NJ. You aren’t fingerprinted when arrested, there is no pre-trial intervention for it, there is no right to a jury trial if you fight it, and it can’t be expunged because it is only on your driving record. I suspect these laws are a holdover from when state governments had power.
There is a movement in the legislature now to amend the suspensions as well, so people can drive at least to and from work.