For most people it begins with a night out on the town or socializing with business associates a few cocktails always loosens up the atmosphere and greases the social wheels.
It does not take long before the average person exceeds the legal limit to legally drive.
Everyone knows that the smart thing to do is to take a cab or arrange for a ride but then there is the hassles and risks associated with retrieving your vehicle and leaving it over night unattended.
Every night regular people everywhere make the wrong decision and decide to drive instead of utilizing a sober driver.
While driving home you get that sick feeling in your stomach when you see the red and blue lights in the rear view mirror.
There is a temptation to minimize the amount of drinks that you have had when talking with the officer.
You think that if you tell the officer that you only had two drinks he will let you go.
As a criminal defense attorney I can tell you that it is not a good idea to even admit that you have drank any alcohol.
You have the right not to incriminate yourself if you are stopped and asked whether you have been drinking or not it is best to explain that you are willing to submit to any field sobriety test however you chose to assert your right not to incriminate yourself and therefore you will not answer any interrogation.
Some people may be thinking that asserting your right against self incrimination may be the same as telling the officer that you have been drinking as a practical matter the officer will probably be suspicious however the jury will never hear that you asserted the privilege and the jury is the only thing that matters.
This is the perfect time to point out how important it is to hire a lawyer if you have been charged with a crime.
The natural instinct is cooperate with law enforcement because the average person trusts law enforcement and does not realize that part of a police officer's job is to record your statements so they can be used against later.
Only a lawyer who practices criminal defense for a living would know that it is not a good idea to make statements to law enforcement officers.
DUI defenses that a lawyer can help you with Even if you really only drank two drinks before you got in the car to drive it is still not a good idea to provide statements to law enforcement.
There are defenses that a criminal defense lawyer can help you with that are frequently successful.
A common defense to an allegation of drunk driving is the rising blood alcohol defense.
Basically the rising blood alcohol defense takes the position that the defendant consumed a few alcoholic beverages shortly before driving.
Alcohol is processed over time therefore a person who consumes multiple drinks in a short period of time will not immediately have all of the alcohol in their blood stream.
Over the next few hours the alcohol will be processed by the body.
You lawyer will argue that you were not over the legal limit at the time you were stopped however as a result of the delay caused by law enforcement your blood alcohol level increased and that is why percentage of alcohol in your blood exceeded the legal limit.
In addition to the rising blood alcohol defense there are other arguments that can be made on your behalf.
An experienced criminal defense attorney will recognize issues with the way you were stopped or problems with the calibration logs of the equipment that was used to measure the percentage of alcohol that was in your blood.
The body of case law relating to drunk driving cases is extensive which means that there are many issues that a criminal defense lawyer can raise on your behalf.
Unfair prosecution without a private defense lawyer If you proceed without hiring a criminal defense lawyer in a drunk driving case you will either be pitted against a highly trained prosecutor with unlimited resources by yourself or you will have a public defender who is over worked and under paid.
As a former public defender I would never criticize the work they do however I know the size of the case load these attorneys have.
I also know that public defenders have to prioritize their cases and drunk driving cases usually do not result in jail time for a first time offense.
On the other hand many criminal defendants who have public defendants are facing up to a year in jail.
There is no doubt that hiring a private criminal defense lawyer is in your best interest if you have been charged with drunk driving.
Many criminal defense lawyers will take your case with a down payment and monthly payments.
It does not take long before the average person exceeds the legal limit to legally drive.
Everyone knows that the smart thing to do is to take a cab or arrange for a ride but then there is the hassles and risks associated with retrieving your vehicle and leaving it over night unattended.
Every night regular people everywhere make the wrong decision and decide to drive instead of utilizing a sober driver.
While driving home you get that sick feeling in your stomach when you see the red and blue lights in the rear view mirror.
There is a temptation to minimize the amount of drinks that you have had when talking with the officer.
You think that if you tell the officer that you only had two drinks he will let you go.
As a criminal defense attorney I can tell you that it is not a good idea to even admit that you have drank any alcohol.
You have the right not to incriminate yourself if you are stopped and asked whether you have been drinking or not it is best to explain that you are willing to submit to any field sobriety test however you chose to assert your right not to incriminate yourself and therefore you will not answer any interrogation.
Some people may be thinking that asserting your right against self incrimination may be the same as telling the officer that you have been drinking as a practical matter the officer will probably be suspicious however the jury will never hear that you asserted the privilege and the jury is the only thing that matters.
This is the perfect time to point out how important it is to hire a lawyer if you have been charged with a crime.
The natural instinct is cooperate with law enforcement because the average person trusts law enforcement and does not realize that part of a police officer's job is to record your statements so they can be used against later.
Only a lawyer who practices criminal defense for a living would know that it is not a good idea to make statements to law enforcement officers.
DUI defenses that a lawyer can help you with Even if you really only drank two drinks before you got in the car to drive it is still not a good idea to provide statements to law enforcement.
There are defenses that a criminal defense lawyer can help you with that are frequently successful.
A common defense to an allegation of drunk driving is the rising blood alcohol defense.
Basically the rising blood alcohol defense takes the position that the defendant consumed a few alcoholic beverages shortly before driving.
Alcohol is processed over time therefore a person who consumes multiple drinks in a short period of time will not immediately have all of the alcohol in their blood stream.
Over the next few hours the alcohol will be processed by the body.
You lawyer will argue that you were not over the legal limit at the time you were stopped however as a result of the delay caused by law enforcement your blood alcohol level increased and that is why percentage of alcohol in your blood exceeded the legal limit.
In addition to the rising blood alcohol defense there are other arguments that can be made on your behalf.
An experienced criminal defense attorney will recognize issues with the way you were stopped or problems with the calibration logs of the equipment that was used to measure the percentage of alcohol that was in your blood.
The body of case law relating to drunk driving cases is extensive which means that there are many issues that a criminal defense lawyer can raise on your behalf.
Unfair prosecution without a private defense lawyer If you proceed without hiring a criminal defense lawyer in a drunk driving case you will either be pitted against a highly trained prosecutor with unlimited resources by yourself or you will have a public defender who is over worked and under paid.
As a former public defender I would never criticize the work they do however I know the size of the case load these attorneys have.
I also know that public defenders have to prioritize their cases and drunk driving cases usually do not result in jail time for a first time offense.
On the other hand many criminal defendants who have public defendants are facing up to a year in jail.
There is no doubt that hiring a private criminal defense lawyer is in your best interest if you have been charged with drunk driving.
Many criminal defense lawyers will take your case with a down payment and monthly payments.
SHARE
