« 10 Mistakes That Can Get You Convicted in a DUI Case

April 3, 2009

4 - add yours »

These are 10 common mistakes usually made by people when they are arrested and charged for DUI/DWI. We also tried to elaborate some of the methods by which people can prevent themselves from doing such mistakes or harm thereof.

A Law Firm is hired where you don’t have a direct conversation with the Head Attorney.

All the lawyers must charge a fee from you and there number in San Diego exceeds from ten thousand. There is a question that how would you make your choice from those? It is my suggestion that you should choose a law firm that allows having a direct conversation with the attorney. So you should meet him personally or if it is not possible than at least talk to him on phone and discuss your case with him.

Mostly the people fail To Request A DMV Administrative Hearing.

There are actually two cases; a criminal DUI case and a civil driver’s license administrative actions that are combined in a single DUI case. Once a person is caught in a DUI case, first step that should be taken by him is to request an administrative hearing in writing, despite that it is only notified in small type at the bottom of the ticket and this is the reason why mostly it is missed by drivers. The DMV hearing is considered to be the single most important part of any DUI case, and if one fail to request a hearing it is automatically suspended. It also happens because most officers fail to mention the hearing to defendants, and the situation as a result, about 50% of people miss this very important deadline.

Assuming that if the Breath Result Is Greater Than .080, you will loose the case.

Those defendants who don’t know the facts about breathalyzer assume that if the result of breathalyzer would be positive means that if the Breath Result Is Greater Than .080, then they will surely loose the case and this is the biggest mistake made by them. The fact is that the breath machines can not always be very accurate. For example an average temperature of 34.0 C for each person that blows into the machine is assumed by the machines, despite, for each degree over that already determined average temperature for machines, the indicated result will be 7% greater than the actual value – breath temperature shows variations among a person with a fever, or a woman during her monthly cycle. In such cases there would be an increase of 2 degrees of more over the baseline of 34.0 C – it makes a difference of 14% if it is added with the 5% internal variance as stated by the manufacturer and 2% for testing solution, which would make 21% difference from actual value.

Not writing what happens to you on that unlucky day.

When the incident happen to you, you should write down everything you remember as soon as possible before the details fade out from your mind as the trial duration may be up to year or even longer. Whatever the case maybe by doing this it will help both you and your attorney to go through the case whenever it is needed.

Not collecting Your Witnesses statements.

If you have got any civilian witnesses you should make sure that you have their contact information with you. These might be the people who were in the vehicle with you at that time, or may be those who were passing-by and witnessed the field tests. If they are ready to make a written statement, have them all write whatever is in their memory related to the incident.

Making your choices for DUI lawyer on the amount of the fee they charge.

Don’t you think that a good lawyer that put his time and make efforts into your case to counter the prosecution deserves reasonable fees also? Attorneys must earn enough in the time they spend on your case in order to work whole heartedly and make a living wage. If you set a fees limit that is too low, your attorney will not be able to put in the time necessary to protect you. You should set a reasonable, acceptable by every attorney.

Not calling a lawyer whose specialty is DUI law.

It is a fact that DUI’s are a very specialized area of law, and a relatively small number of practitioners thoroughly understood it. This is the reason that most lawyers will make an appropriate referral if the case falls beyond their field of expertise. Despite, due to the natural complexities of a DUI case, generally it is not suggested to call any attorney or an already familiar family law practitioner. There are rarely few areas of law that are considered by the American Bar Association as “specialty” areas, and DUI law is one of them. So, this thing needs a special consideration to hire an attorney who has specialized in DUI law and fully understand the history and physiological basis of the “Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.”

Not going to Court trials – not willing to hire a DUI Lawyer.

If you don’t hire a lawyer the Court will take notice and would issue a bench warrant for your arrest and revoke any bond. The next time whenever you break any traffic rule and are stopped by a traffic police officer, you would have to spend some time in jail and have to post a bond for your future appearances.

Being reluctant to Breathalyzer test.

Those people who are reluctant to take a deep breath in breathalyzer when they are caught into any Dui case, and want to get rid of the problem without giving any test would merely immerse themselves in a quick but thorough education in DUI law and consequences thereof, as due to there reluctance the cop would be more suspicious about them and consider them to be guilty whether they are or not.

Not properly analyzing your situation.

The most important thing is to know that whenever a citizen is stopped, the Fourth Amendment is implicated. However this legal clause is only useful, if the citizen is willing to enforce their rights. Don’t you have a big shock? Unfortunately it is true that perhaps the biggest legal protection we possess is not self-enforcing and it would be only enforced if we desire so. Yes, this means that even if you are stopped illegally, then unless you ask for the evidence – the Court and prosecutor will do what they usually do and accept your guilty plea without giving you any evidence and will conduct the same behavior with you as they do with those who are suspect of any crime. So it is of great importance that you argue them, that why the law applies to you and why the exceptions to the rule do not apply. And if you are really that much clever to analyze your situation, then you’ll immediately realize that your chances of challenging evidence gathered as a result of an illegal stop, without using legal counsel, is completely impossible.

You might also like

10 Mistakes To Be Avoided While Arrested For DWI Here are some biggest mistakes that you must avoid in case you arrested for DWI. 1: Take the matter...

Top Five Mistakes To Avoid During DUI Arrest Who knows you have a few too many shots of alcohol in a party, and may be you become next suspect of...

Are Field Sobriety Tests Accurate? The accuracy of Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) cannot be guaranteed as there are many other factors that...

New Drunk Driving Law Most people tend to ignore this fact and yet go onto repeat their mistakes; drink and drive. This combination...

[ Link to this post | Trackback URl | Comment feed ]

Leave a comment

Name

Email

Webpage