DUI: Defensible or Not?
I do not condone driving under the influence, nor do I believe it’s defensible on any level. A friend, who will remain anonymous, recently asked me: what defenses are there in a DUI case? Given the recent buzz surrounding the disorderly (read: drunken) conduct of celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, I decided to toss this question to my LinkedIn network of professionals.
Your friend better find a lawyer and FAST. Looking on Linked In is not the way to deal with a DUI. Unless things have gotten softer since I was a delinquent minor, DUI is a criminal charge and you do not need a criminal record – it’s just one of those acquisitions people should probably forego!
There are many defenses but the best results come from lawyers who absolutely know every judge and every PD.
Chris: DUI, despite being a common and usually lower level crime, is actually fairly complicated to deal with, starting with officers observations, proceeding to how the stop was made, field tests, blood alcohol analysis and an incredible amount of paper – that’s before any lawyer even sees anything prior to making filing decisions. Each DUI case is vastly different from any other.
There are a lot of defenses, starting with establishing that there was no DUI. But, as has already been mentioned, this can’t be handled second hand over a question and answer board. Your friend needs an attorney, sooner the better.
I agree with Marc, LinkedIn is not the place to start. I gave you some links the other day for attorneys with the King county and Washington state bar based on your location. If your friend is in another area have him look at Martindales.com Also keep in mind that even if the sentence is favorable many states still allow DMV to suspend the license for a period of time over and above the courts sentence. Once you find this party a lawyer have a chat about being a responsible adult and not driving while drinking.
All of the above is right. Get a lawyer FAST! Several positions which I have recruited for recently have required a clean driving record because the position entails a company car. No matter how well qualified the candidate is in other areas, a DUI will remove them from consideration.
I am wondering why the other posters say that Linked In is not a place to look for a lawyer. Why not get a referral from this source? I agree that Linked In is probably not where you want to find your defence. Incidentally, it is true there are many defences. Many are constitutional relating to why the driver was stopped, whether he/she was provided with timely right to counsel etc. Other defences have to do with the way the testing was administered relative to the provisions of your law. Good luck.
As an attorney myself, I would agree that Linked In may be an appropriate place to find a DUI attorney, but probably not the optimal place. DUI varies drastically from state to state. And application of the law can vary considerably from county to county within a state. So quoting from Thomas Friedman in “The World is Flat,” you need “localized and specialized” expertise. In other words, find out someone who is regarded as the best or among the best in the county where this matter is pending.
Among issues to be considered would be probable cause for the stop, whether proper Miranda warnings were provided, whether the Breathalyzer equipment was proper or properly calibrated. There are standard field sobriety tests and there are questions to be asked about the propriety and administration of these. There may or may not be video evidence and there could be procedural and evidentiary issues about this.
There may be “lesser included offenses” to which the charge could be reduced. You have to consider not only the impact of the DUI on one’s criminal record but also the rights to drive to and from work. One has to consider prior offenses as that will impact on punishment in the event of conviction.
Again, I am not a criminal lawyer and this should not be considered legal advice. Rather, it is an effort to point out to you how very complex this area is. If I were a total stranger to the area, I would observe the traffic DUI court and see who is the best in the area. I would ask a retired traffic court judge who he/she considered the best to have practiced before him/her. I would ask the clerk of the court who are the regular filers for the defense in DUI cases. I would check the local bar association. Usually, if you find convergence in two or three of these areas, you will have found your best bet.
The only defense in any case, criminal or civil, is a GREAT attorney. Like it or not, the system is geared to reward those who pay for quality legal services, The facts of the case are secondary.
I guess I’ll be the lone voice in the wilderness: unless there was something unjust in the charge (i.e.: he really hadn’t been drinking), isn’t it justice that he be punished for putting the lives of others around him in danger? Thousands of people die every year because someone drinks, gets behind the wheel of a car with impaired reflexes and judgement, and gets into an accident that might have been avoided if alcohol wasn’t involved. So if your friend was drunk, and got behind the wheel of a car to drive, justice is that he be charged with DUI.
