While you have the right to represent yourself, you are not going to have the legal skills needed to successfully handle your own case. When you have no legal training, it is difficult for you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your own DUI case. However a DUI lawyer, can assess a DUI case. Driving under the influence or GUIs are considered being a crime in every state in the United States. This means that these cases go to criminal court.
When you do not have knowledge of criminal court and how the criminal court process works, you should turn to a DUI lawyer. DUI lawyers are going to have the most experience involving DUI cases. DUI laws are complicated, and it is constantly being updated and altered. The facts of every DUI case are unique, which means the more experience your lawyer is the better your chances are.
When you consult the DUI lawyer, you need to bring your police report, any other documentation that you have surrounding your DUI case, and a list of questions that you would like your lawyer to answer. This ensures that for the free consultation, as consultations usually are free, you’re making the best use of your time and your lawyer’s time.
Prosecutors usually have a standard first offense plea offer, which means they offer everyone with the first standard DUI the same plea deal. This is typically at the lower end of the allowable first DUI sentence in, and generally an offense is considered a standard first DUI if you have no prior DUI convictions and the offense did not involve any aggravating factors such as accidents, injuries or high blood alcohol concentration.
The standard offer and theory is the same regardless of whether a private attorney, public defender or no attorney at all represents the defendant.this means that it might not be worth it to hire a DUI lawyer in Frederick, MD, for your first standard DUI offense because they are probably just going to get you that same plea bargain and nothing more.
Accepting an offer may be un-advisable in cases where the defendant has viable defenses. However, if you are unrepresented, you are unlikely to know whether there are any such defenses applied to your case. Prior to accepting any kind of plea deal it is a great idea to get a lawyer’s opinion if not have them represent you in court.
All criminal defendants have the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford to hire your own lawyer, the court will appoint one for you. Oftentimes appointed lawyers are from the public defender’s office. Public defenders handle many criminal cases which include a lot of DUIs. This means most public defenders are quite familiar with DUI law and defenses, and are often well acquainted with the district attorneys and judges and can tell you about their tendencies. The downsides about being represented by a public defender is that they have a large caseload. You do not get to choose your public defender, they are assigned to you and you get who you get. And because of the caseload a public defender may not be able to come to the first of two DUI proceedings, one of which is called an administrative per se proceeding with the Department of Motor Vehicles and then the criminal case. They will only attend the criminal proceeding.
The lawyers maintain personal contact with every client and communicate regularly throughout the legal process, dedicated to serving our clients with honesty, integrity, and professionalism.
