If you’ve been charged with a criminal defense, you are likely to feel overwhelmed. One of the wisest moves you can make is to hire a criminal defense lawyer. Those professionals will have the expertise to guide you through all the steps of your criminal defense case. During your first meeting with criminal defense lawyers, you can explain all the circumstances surrounding the charges against you, and the lawyer can explain how the law applies to you.
If it seems certain you will be facing a criminal defense trial, it is typically best to hire a local defense attorney. Those attorneys will have insight into any special guidelines in the law based on your location. Local attorneys will also likely be acquainted with the courts and judges you may meet when you go to court.
As your court case approaches, the relationship between the lawyer and defendant will develop into invaluable support for you. There are several types of criminal defense lawyers, including public defenders, for clients who can’t afford to pay for a lawyer. Your opposing lawyer may be the district attorney, who is the legal official of your county or state.
Federal and state laws don’t play around with crimes involving significant injury or death to another human being. One of the most common criminal matters is driving under the influence or, in some states, driving while intoxicated. They are very similar charges. The qualifications for each are determined at the state level. Finding attorneys that handle these types of cases leads you to start looking for a defense lawyer.
A criminal defense attorney and a defense lawyer are the same things. When asking a criminal defense attorney what do they do all day, you’re going to get long and involved answers. Each day, they present cases to court, do legal research, draft arguments, and work with judges to reduce sentencing for first-time offenders or other particular circumstances.
Becoming a criminal defense attorney is an admirable thing to do but involves several years of intense study. Each defense lawyer works in a specialized area of criminal law to learn it inside and out to help their clients better. The laws in some jurisdictions change daily, and it’s critical to develop a system as a new attorney, you can stay on top of developing information. People who find themselves on the wrong side of the law will need your expertise.
Did you know there are approximately 300,000 people on the road driving drunk each day in the United States, but less than 4,000 are arrested for a DUI? These numbers may seem starting but it is true. Unless a driver is acting erratically, causes and accident, or happens to be pulled over for another reason, moist can go undetected. While this doesn’t make driving drunk any less dangerous, it certainly puts the situation in perspective.
Across the country, states are lower the minimum blood alcohol levels indicating when an individual is considered driving under the influence. Most have done this under pressure from the federal government and threats to limit their funding for highway repairs.
While many may see this as an overall positive, there is a clear downside. At 0.08 blood alcohol, which is what many states have gone to, it is arguable that the driver is not actually impaired. Some states want to lower it to 0.04, which would literally mean an individual could not have any alcohol prior to driving.
This puts the driver in an unfair position. An adult could have one or two drinks while out to dinner and leave on their own accord feeling legitimately fine only to be cited later for a DUI. In this case, the best approach is getting an experienced criminal defense and DUI attorney.
A criminal defense and DUI attorney can get the criminal charges lessened and protect you from the negative consequences of drunk driving, which may include ?party plates,? high fines, suspended licenses, and even jail time depending on what state you live in. Party plates can open an individual up to judgement, risky their job, and putting their families in an unfair situation. They will also help ensure you are not led into incriminating yourself and harming your own defense by the police or prosecutors. Your criminal defense and DUI attorney will protect you from those that are only interested in seeing you get punished without taking the time to better understand the situation.
DUI laws are good and in place to protect everyone on the road. However, the laws and consequences have become so strict and severe that they have gone beyond their intended purpose. Current laws in most states discourage drinking all together because the consequences aren?t worth it, and that is simply unfair. It is one thing to punish an individual for driving under the influence, but the plates identifying a DUI are punishing the entire family.
A responsible adult should be able to go out and have a drink or two with dinner without having to worry about being thrown in jail or being forced to use special car plates that are humiliating and degrading. Some are pushing for DUI laws that are so strict, they are effectively encouraging prohibition.
For many living paycheck to paycheck, a single DUI can be financially devastating. In addition to the exorbitant fines and court costs, being jailed, having a vehicle impounded, or getting a license suspended can lead to job loss furthering the financial toll on the family. Not to mention, in a small town, the reputation that grows from getting a DUI can harm your employ-ability.
Particularly first time offenders should be given the benefit of the doubt in these situations. This is especially true when their blood alcohol level is close to the legal limit, and it is fair to argue that they were not actually impaired driving. There are many factors that go into impairment, and blood alcohol level is just one of them.