If you have been charged with a drinking and driving related offense in your state, it is critical that you remain silent and that you fully cooperate with the police, as anything you say or do may be used by the prosecution and the police to establish that you had a blood alcohol content (BAC) above the usual legal limit of .08 alcohol concentration limit at the time of your DUI stop. A conviction on these charges could result in life-altering consequences, including significant fines, possible jail time, and the loss of your driver’s license.
Your states’ DUI laws are designed to protect the safety of drivers, motorists, passengers, and pedestrians. Because the purpose of these laws is the protection of innocent people, DUI cases are heavily prosecuted. A typical DUI conviction results in fines, loss of driving privileges, treatment and monitoring programs, and even jail time. Certain circumstances of a DUI arrest, such as transporting a minor or a repeat DUI offense, can result in enhanced penalties. While a DUI conviction brings a criminal record, the truth is that most people arrested for driving under the influence are typically law-abiding citizens who made a significant error in judgment. If you have been arrested and charged with driving under the influence, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life paying for this mistake with a criminal record. To understand your options and to protect your rights, it is important to contact an experienced DUI lawyer as soon as possible.
The consequences of a conviction for drunk driving extend beyond the courtroom. For those with a professional driver’s license, a DUI conviction can cause you to lose your employment, in some cases permanently. A conviction can have an effect on any area of employment, even those that do not involve driving. It may prevent you from obtaining a professional license, or even prevent you from being admitted to a college or university. There are also significant financial consequences, including fines, restitution, the costs of court ordered alcohol treatment, and increased car insurance premiums.
You are guaranteeing your worst case scenario by not contacting and hiring an attorney to fight for you, because the prosecution has no intention of doing you any favors. DUI is an intricate field of law, coupled with a lot of politics – you need to have a professional on your side to protect your rights – one of which is the right to an attorney – don’t make the mistake of going at this alone. Penalties from a conviction of DUI can be severe, and may have cause you trouble’s, financial & otherwise, for years to come. Those may include the following: jail time to serve, fines (financial restitution), your driving privileges (possible revocation, suspension or restriction) & penalties with the DMV, an order to attend drug & alcohol abuse classes at your expense, and the possibility of other penalties or fines imposed by the court. Another area to have concern about is your insurance premium costs, they too will be measured on your conviction of a DUI, and they have a possibility of causing as much hardship on you as your financial burden imposed by the court.
Driving Under the Influence Arrest
Driving under the influence is the most common offense in our society. It can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony DUI, depending upon your record or whether there were serious injuries.
From contesting the initial reason the officer pulled someone over, to showing the inherent inaccuracies in the breath and blood test, a skilled DUI lawyer can help you fight for your legal rights.
It is imperative to retain a lawyer that is familiar with this police training and has extensive knowledge about what the officer can and can not do. The best attorneys have years of experience and the resources to evaluate whether the stopping officer in your case performed according to the proper procedure and within the legal parameters when issuing a field sobriety test or arresting.
