What Does a DUI Lawyer Do?
The DUI or DWI lawyer is actually a criminal defense attorney who specializes in defending people charged with a DUI criminal offense. In case you are charged and arrested for a DUI offense, you’d better contact a DUI lawyer immediately.
A DUI lawyer is invaluable for his or her help in explaining your legal circumstances to you. The DWI lawyer will explain what constitutes driving under the influence, and how serious the charge being leveled against you is. The DUI lawyer will also review your case. As he or she is experienced with the DUI laws in your state, you have a better chance against the DUI charge filed against you if you have a good DUI lawyer on your side.
Your DUI lawyer can give you good advice on whether you should plead guilty or not during your arraignment; it’s best not to plead guilty without having had the benefit of legal counseling. During the preliminary conference, the DUI lawyer will cross examine the witnesses presented and brought by the prosecution against you. If your DUI lawyer is good, the charges against you may be dropped at this early stage.
The DUI lawyer’s help is also very important during pre-trial conferences (the negotiations before an actual trial is set). This is another opportunity where a good DUI lawyer can work his or her magic and get the charges dropped against you. At the very least, a good DUI lawyer may succeed in having the charges against you be reclassified into a non-alcohol or non-drug related incident.
The DUI lawyer also files several motions on your behalf in a DUI case. He or she may file for a motion to suppress your statements after you have been arrested. He or she may also force an evidentiary hearing and to discover the evidence held by the prosecution against you – thereby increasing your chance of preparing a good defense.
Finally, if a trial has been set, the DUI lawyer will participate in the juror selection and naturally, stand for and defend you during the actual trial. He or she will also produce expert witnesses and hire investigators who can strengthen your defense and weaken that of the prosecution, and cross-examine the witnesses of the prosecution for the same purpose.
When Is It Time to Contact a DUI Lawyer?
The best time to contact a DUI lawyer is when you are stopped by an arresting officer and asked to undergo the standard DUI tests such as the Breathalyzer tests or the Field Sobriety Tests.
Typically, if you show erratic driving behavior – for instance, you are swerving all over the place or are hugging the center line – you may be stopped by a police officer and be requested to undergo the standard DUI tests. You may also be asked to undergo such tests if you stop and start by turns, drive your car off the road, hit a tree or a roadside sign, tail another car too closely, or break basic traffic laws.
After the arresting officer has signaled you to stop, do pull over (if you’re not stopped already) and wait for the officer to reach you. If the police officer asks you to step outside your vehicle, do so promptly.
Typically, arresting officers will begin by asking relevant questions – whether you have been drinking or not, where you have been, if you have problems, etc. It is also standard procedure for the police to ask you to undergo their portable breath analyzer exam, their pen-to-eye test and their range of field sobriety tests.
Call a DUI Lawyer
It is advised that you do not submit yourself to any of the tests that the police will give you on site. You are also advised not to answer the questions that the police officer asks. Immediately after you step out of your vehicle and the police officer starts asking you probing questions – you should answer in a firm yet polite voice that you would like to have your attorney present during questioning and that you refuse to answer any questions and undergo tests without first consulting your attorney.
After that, request for permission to call your DUI attorney. In this instance, you may call your usual attorney for advice. He or she can contact a DUI lawyer on your behalf. The important thing is to have legal counsel at this point. Then once you are talking with a DUI lawyer, you will be able to ascertain whether or not you should submit to chemical tests and decide on other follow-up moves.
Cost of a DUI Lawyer
A charge of DUI seems like a straightforward charge – one against whom you can easily defend yourself. Unfortunately, it is in fact one of the most complicated criminal charges in existence; trying to deal with all of its complexities yourself may be detrimental to your well being.
Legal Fees in a DUI Charge
Hourly rates for DUI cases are typically between 100 to 300 dollars. If you want a really good DUI lawyer (someone whose reputation precedes him or her), prepare to pay around $500 per hour. Flat rates for DUI attorneys, however, can go from only 500 dollars to more than a thousand dollars for a single, quick appeal on your behalf. If the DUI case you’re facing is more complicated than that, however, and there is a strong possibility that your case will actually go to trial, then your attorney’s quote can go up to as high as $10,000 or even more. The fees are even higher if you are faced with a second- or third-offense charge.
After you have decided on an hourly or flat fee, you need to pay the lawyer his or her retainer fee. The retainer is based on the hourly rate or the flat fee you have agreed upon. The typical retainer for a complex DUI offense is $5,000 and is considered as advance payment for several hours of work. The retainer may also be computed as a percentage of the flat fee agreed upon – say 50% of the $10,000 flat fee.
Aside from fees for the attorney, however, you will also have to deal with additional charges. You may have to spend additional money to pay for your own chemical tests, for expert witnesses who can throw doubt on the veracity and accuracy of field sobriety and portable breath tests, and private investigators that can provide the jurors with evidence that will weaken the prosecutor’s arguments.
Why Is It Important to Hire a DUI Lawyer for Your DUI Issue?
First, we need to define what DUI is. DUI stands for “Driving Under the Influence.” In legal parlance, it can be used interchangeably with DWI, which stands for “Driving While Impaired” or “Driving While Intoxicated.” Both terms refer to driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other substance that can impair motor as well as mental skills.
DUI or DWI, according to the Uniform Crime Reports or UCR is a Part II crime. Typically, it is treated as a misdemeanor at the first offense. This, however, is not always the case if the DUI causes injury or property damage in result; in this case (and in cases where the DUI is not a first offense), the DUI charge can become and be treated as a felony. Many states also have various DUI levels and classifications, too, and this leads to even more confusion.
A DUI Attorney is Important
Given the complexity of a DUI charge, you clearly need the expert assistance of a DUI lawyer if you are facing such an issue. Without a DUI/DWI attorney’s help, you may make the wrong decisions that could have long-term repercussions on your life.
Remember that a DUI is a criminal offense. Pleading guilty for the sake of getting a plea arrangement with the prosecuting attorney means financial savings in the short term – you won’t need to pay legal fees and other costs associated with your defense. However, what of its long-term consequences?
Conviction under a DUI charge means a criminal record. A DUI conviction can also mean driving license sanctions – say suspension for a certain period of time. A DUI conviction also means your automobile insurance premiums will inevitably increase.
Such consequences can be avoided if you have the help of a competent DWI attorney. Through a DUI lawyer’s help, charges against you may be dropped or your punishment be lightened. Furthermore, a DUI lawyer has the expertise to find holes in the prosecution’s arguments, to challenge their evidence and, overall, to give you the best possible defense. You, acting alone, are probably not going to be very successful in finding all possible arguments that could exonerate you from the charge.
How to Find a Good DUI Lawyer
If you require the services of a DUI lawyer, here are some of the methods that you can use to find one. Remember, however, that your object is to find a good (read: competent) attorney who will be able to get you the best result or outcome given the circumstances.
1. Ask others who had the same problem in the past.
If you want to find a good DUI attorney, then asking others who have experienced the same problems in the past may be a very good idea. DUI is quite a common offense – it is more than possible that you will be able to find a friend, an acquaintance or a friend of a friend who has had a brush with the law for DUI.
Asking others who have had DUI trouble in the past for their referrals can only be a good move. They have first-hand experience of how good or how incompetent their lawyers had been. They are also unlikely to recommend their lawyer if they had not been satisfied with that lawyer’s services.
2. Ask your lawyer
If you already have a lawyer on retainer or on your payroll – or if you used a lawyer for, say, a tax concern in the past – then you should go to him or her and ask for a recommendation. Your present or past lawyer may be able to recommend a lawyer from the same firm or may be able to give you the name of a good associate who is known for capably handling DUI cases.
The good thing about asking a lawyer to refer a DUI lawyer is that you can be sure that the one giving you a referral knows what kind of legal help you need in a DUI case. Thus this lawyer is a good judge of the right DUI lawyer for you.
3. Consult Lawyer’s Professional Associations
If there are lawyers’ associations in your locality, go there and check out the lawyers in their roster. Find those who specialize in DUI offenses and cases.
4. Consult the Yellow Pages
Lawyers – including DUI lawyers – advertise in the Yellow Pages. Just take out your Yellow Pages, find the listing for attorneys that practice DUI defense.
5. Search the Web
You can also go online to do conduct your DUI lawyer search. There are numerous attorney directories online. The great thing about online directories is that they are organized into state, city, county, and specialization.
What to Ask a DUI Lawyer When You’re Hiring One
You should not settle for the first DUI lawyer with whom you come across. You should conduct a quick yet systematic search for a DUI attorney. Before hiring a lawyer, you should ascertain his or her competence to handle your case. The fact that someone passes the Bar exam or has a license to practice law in your state does not automatically mean that he is competent. Make a hasty choice and you may end up losing a lot of money and with a DUI conviction to boot.
The following are just some of the questions that you should ask a DUI lawyer in your interview:
1. How many years have you been practicing law in this state?
It is important to know this so you can assess whether the lawyer is as experienced as he likes to claim.
2. How many years have you been specializing in criminal law and in DUI defense?
You need someone who is not only an experienced lawyer in your state but also an experienced lawyer in criminal and DUI defense.
3. How many cases of DUI have you handled in the last year?
This will let you verify if the lawyer you’re talking to is as experienced in DUI defense as he says. The more cases of DUI the lawyer has handled, the more skilled he is likely to be in DUI defense.
4. How many DUI trials have you handled in the last year?
You would like to know this figure to make sure that your lawyer has the ability to defend you in case your DUI suit goes to trial.
5. How many of your DUI cases in the last year have ended with a conviction, exoneration or a plea agreement?
This is the question that would let you ascertain your lawyer’s success rate. The more cases end in exoneration, the higher the success rate of the lawyer and the more competent that lawyer is likely to be.
6. Do you have a ready network of private investigators and credible expert witnesses for use on DUI trials?
If your case goes to trial and you would need to weaken the prosecution’s arguments, you may need credible expert witnesses and investigators working on your behalf. A good DUI lawyer has a ready network of such people whom they can call when necessary.
7. How much do you charge and how much retainer fee do I have to pay?
Naturally, you want to know how much your lawyer will charge. If the price is too low, be suspicious. If the price is too high, then look for someone else.
8. What does my retainer and legal fees cover?
This way, you can ascertain whether or not your legal fees will cover trial or just motion filings and appeals.
9. How much will I have to spend overall?
A good and experienced DUI lawyer will be able to anticipate the extent of work involved just by analyzing your case. Thus, he or she will be able to come up with an estimate of your overall expenses – including non-legal fees.
11. Can you promise me a positive result?
No honest DUI lawyer can guarantee a positive result. However, he or she will be able to tell you what your case is likely to involve and how it is likely to end.
