You may also want to ask friends or family for recommendations unless you don’t want them to know about your arrest. If you do look online, the website of your state or local bar association is a good place to start. Look for a free attorney-referral program that will give you a list of area attorneys tailored to your answers to a few questions. Many attorneys who handle DUI cases engage in extensive advertising, which means you might already know a few relevant names. Keep in mind, however, that the best or most affordable attorney for you won’t necessarily have a great ad.
If the attorneys on your list have websites, read them in order to evaluate their backgrounds and experience. You want an attorney who practices in your area, someone who is familiar with the judges and prosecutors. You’re looking for an attorney who has been practicing in your area for several years. You may be able to find information about the types of cases an attorney takes by looking at their website. Look for extensive experience with DUI cases. Check an attorney’s reputation by searching for reviews from past clients. You may be able to find these on general review sites or on social media.
You should be able to schedule an initial consultation within a week. If an attorney doesn’t have time to meet with you in the next week (two at the most), they probably are too busy to give your case the attention it deserves. If the attorney has an information form for you to fill out, complete and return it as soon as possible. The more information the attorney has about you and your case, the better able they are to tailor the initial consultation to you and your needs.
The types of questions you ask will depend on what is important to you in an attorney-client relationship. If this is your first time hiring an attorney, think about things that would be important to you if you were hiring someone to work for you in any other capacity. The questions you ask here would be similar. For example, if you needed a plumber, you might want to know whether the plumber would do all the work herself or have an inexperienced apprentice doing most of the work. Similarly, if you’re hiring an attorney, you may want to ask them how much of the work on your case they’ll be doing themselves and how much will be done by a paralegal or new attorney who recently graduated from law school.
Fees are an important consideration, especially if money is tight. Resist the temptation to select an attorney just because they charge the lowest fee. That person might not be your best choice. Most attorneys are willing to negotiate if you can’t immediately afford their fees. Some may be willing to create a payment plan or even lower the total cost. When choosing an attorney, don’t ignore your gut feeling. If you find one who’s passionate, interested in your case, and who inspires your confidence and trust, they may be your best choice – even if they’re less experienced than others you interviewed.
Don’t let the attorney start working on your case until you’ve read and signed a written contract for their services. Have the attorney explain the agreement to you. Ask questions if there’s anything about it you don’t understand. There may be a part of the agreement with which you disagree or that’s different from what you understood from the initial consultation. Say something about it. Attorneys typically are willing to negotiate, but you have to bring the issue up yourself. For example, you might say “This agreement says I’m paying you by the hour, but you told me during the initial consultation that you would take my case for an $800 flat fee. I planned my budget based on that flat fee. "
The prosecuting attorney must provide to your attorney all evidence they plan to use against you at trial. Your attorney will discuss this evidence with you. DUI charges based on field sobriety tests can be the most difficult for the prosecution to prove, particularly if there is no other evidence of your intoxication. The tests are relatively subjective, based on the officer’s observations, and there are a number of conditions that can interfere with the results. Breathalyzer tests also have weaknesses but are generally more difficult to challenge than field sobriety tests. The specific results of a test make a difference. The prosecutor may be more willing to drop the charges if you were just barely over the legal limit than if tests showed you were significantly intoxicated.
For example, if you were obeying all the rules of the road and were pulled over anyway, you can argue that the officer did not have probable cause to stop you. If the officer pulled you over for a non-moving violation such as a broken tail light, you may be able to argue the officer had no probable cause to believe you were intoxicated. For that argument, you would need to look at the statements from the officer. Typically the officer will note in the police report that they administered a breathalyzer or field sobriety test because they smelled alcohol on your breath.
For example, certain diets and medications can cause a false breathalyzer result. If you’re currently on a strict Atkins-style diet, for example, your body may produce alcohol that the breathalyzer reads incorrectly. This isn’t the type of alcohol that you can get drunk from, but the breathalyzer can’t tell the difference. You may also have registered a falsely high blood-alcohol content on a breathalyzer if you have certain medical conditions such as diabetes or acid reflux. If your DUI charge is based on a field sobriety test, physical conditions may have caused you to appear drunk, even though your driving ability was not impaired. For example, you may have a recent knee or ankle injury.
For example, if you believe that your acid reflux produced a false result on a breathalyzer test, you might ask a doctor to testify to the severity of your acid reflux disease and your use of medication in response. Eyewitnesses can be helpful, especially if they were with you before you were pulled over and can testify that you were not drinking any alcohol. Keep in mind, however, that it will be their word against the word of a police officer. Generally, police officers do well in a trial. A prosecutor (or judge) may not be convinced by a friend of yours who is contradicting a member of law enforcement.
Even if you and your attorney are fairly confident that you can get your DUI charges dropped, it’s still important to be well-prepared for trial. If the prosecutor senses that you’re not well-prepared, they may become less willing to negotiate with you. On the other hand, the prosecutor will be more willing to strike a deal if you have a strong case and it appears likely that you could win at trial. Since both sides are required to exchange information and evidence, the prosecuting attorney generally will have a good idea of how strong your case looks and your odds of beating the charges.
Your attorney can tell you what classes are required and where you can take them. Expect these classes to cost several hundred dollars. You’ll be expected to complete them in spite of the cost. Consider it part of the punishment. Taking a driver-responsibility class does not mean that you’re admitting guilt. On the contrary, the prosecutor may be more willing to work with you if you show that you’re being proactive.
As with taking driving classes, getting a professional evaluation does not mean that you are admitting guilt. The prosecutor may be more willing to work with you if you show a willingness to admit you have a problem and get help for it. Keep in mind, however, that once you start a treatment program, the prosecutor may condition the dropping of DUI charges on continued participation in treatment.
The prosecutor’s opinion of the case, and what they’re willing to offer you, may change depending on the evidence revealed as part of the pretrial investigation. For example, the prosecutor may be unwilling to entertain any thought of dropping your DUI charges. However, upon learning that you have a medical condition that probably interfered with the breathalyzer results, the prosecutor may change their opinion of the case. Prosecutors are usually unwilling to drop DUI charges. You may have more of a challenge plea bargaining than you would with another type of case. That’s why having an attorney who understands the law and is familiar with the judge and prosecutor can be instrumental in getting your charges dropped.
This is where it can be to your advantage to have already taken driver safety or responsibility classes. These classes typically would be required for lesser moving violations as well. Your attorney will explain to you the consequences of the lesser offense so you can decide whether it is in your best interests to take the deal. Keep in mind that while you still may incur negative consequences such as increased car-insurance rates, these consequences typically will be less than they would be if you were convicted of a DUI.
