Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, illicit drugs, or medications will typically result in police apprehension and subsequent court proceedings. Following a DUI arrest a DMV Per Se hearing must be requested within ten days of arrest, or a suspect's right to a hearing may be waived and driving privileges may be suspended. Further, a criminal case will likely be prosecuted against a suspect, which can result in fines, community service, and jail time. A conviction for either charge remains on a suspect's record for up to seven years, and any future arrests for DUI within that period will result in long-term license revocation and mandatory jail time.

DWI is a criminal offense that says a person may not drive a motor vehicle in a public place while " intoxicated ".   The DWI statute does not say driving while drunk.

What does "intoxicated" mean ?

A person need not be drunk to be "intoxicated" but a person who is drunk must be intoxicated.  "Intoxicated" is defined by the DWI statute in two ways.  First, a person is "intoxicated" when she drives and, when, through the use of an alcoholic beverage, drug, controlled substance, or any combination thereof, has lost the "normal" use of either her "mental" or "physical" faculties.  Second, a person is "intoxicated" when she drives and has an alcohol concentration of .08 or more in her body.

Whose "normal mental and physical faculties" are we judged by and "what is normal" ?

The "normal mental and physical faculties" the DWI  statute refers to are those of the particular person who has been arrested.  The term does not refer to the normal faculties of the arresting officer, those of jurors in a DWI criminal trial, or those of a fictitious average person.  Indeed, the term "normal" actually refers to a range of measurement of the faculties of the person arrested.  For example, "normal" would not be a particular point on a 12" ruler.  Rather, it is better explained as the distance between two particular points on the ruler, i.e., between the 3" and 9" marks.