Can a DUI attorney help
Having a lawyer may drastically improve your chances of beating the charge or getting a favorable plea bargain.
To know if DUI attorney will help, start by educating yourself with reading up on subject and interview DUI lawyers. When you choose to put yourself and your case in hands of professional, you will feel better having done so.
It may be tempting to try to save money and represent yourself. Saving money on attorney's fees, could end up costing you more in fines, license suspensions, jail, unemployment, etc.
Two adages that come to mind when accused of drunk driving and deciding whether to hire a DUI attorney:
- A person who represents himself has a fool for a client; and
- This is the rainy day you've been saving for.
Warning: Do not rely on the advice of other people who have been through a DUI case. Their situations may be drastically different than yours. An attorney may have helped them, but may not be the right fit for you. If others have gotten DUI conviction, advise not to bother with lawyer, educate yourself and their advice applies to you. Ask questions to determine how their case is similar to or different from your own DUI case.
Representing yourself in a DUI case
If you chose to represent yourself, you will be held to the same standard as a practicing attorney. This means that you must know the rules of evidence and criminal procedure. You must formulate a proper question, and you must make objections at proper time in order to preserve your rights.
Some Judges will go out of their way to help guide self-represented people through the system, but others will be annoyed and frustrated by a non-lawyer trying to play lawyer for their own case. How do you think the hospital administrator would react if you, as a patient, announced that you were going to come into their hospital and operate on yourself? Although the analogy is absurd because it is unthinkable that a person would operate on themselves in a hospital, people do try to represent themselves in court every day in DUI cases.
If your case needs to be litigated, it is not a good idea to try to go it alone. On the other hand, it is difficult to even know if your case needs to be, or should be litigated (which essentially means argued rather than plea bargain). In order to find out what kind of strategy is best suited for your case, and whether you would benefit from a plea bargain or from trial, it is always a good idea to sit through at least one free case review with a qualified local attorney. To get a free consultation with a lawyer right now, contact a local DUI lawyer in your state, city, or county where your case is pending.
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