If you have been charged with a DUI, you will want to make it a point to retain a DUI lawyer as soon as you can. Sure, you do have the right to represent yourself in court and you might have done so when you wanted to fight a parking ticket, but you may not want to do that when the charge is a DUI. Here are a few reasons why:
1. You Might Be Able to Have the Charge Completely Thrown Out
Having the charges thrown out of court would be the ideal thing to happen. Of course, doing that on your own can prove to be rather difficult, especially if you do not have any professional experience inside the courtroom. If you have a DUI attorney helping you out, they might be able to accomplish this if they find that the ticket was written up with wrong information included in it, such as the description of your vehicle or the readings on the breathalyzer. For example, it could be discovered that it has been too long since the breathalyzer used has been calibrated. This means that there is no way to know if the arresting officer was truly getting an accurate reading.
2. You May Get an Easier Punishment if Found Guilty
Some people would rather just plead guilty and others will fight to prove their innocence, but either way, if you end up finding that you are going to be found guilty, you will want to try to get the smallest a punishment as possible. This is most important when you are a first time offender and you have a career that you cannot lose because of time that has to be spent in jail. Your DUI lawyer will be able to present to the judge all of the reasons why fines and community service would be more beneficial to you and the community that you must repay your debt to. If you were to represent yourself in the DUI courtroom, there is a good chance that the judge might not be interested in what you have to say.
Make sure that you are calling to make appointments for consultations with at least two different lawyers. This will give you the opportunity to sit down with a couple of lawyers so you can get a feel for who you feel most comfortable handling your upcoming DUI case.
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