If you are ever arrested for driving under the influence, hiring representation is the obvious choice. However, if you do not hire someone who routinely defends these types of cases, mistakes could be made. By hiring an experienced OUI attorney, you can avoid some of these common errors.
Breath Test
When it comes to the administration of breath tests, each state has a set of rules they must adhere to. It is essential to the prosecutor’s case that each step is followed precisely.
Sadly, defense lawyers who are not experts in driving while intoxicated cases don’t always realize that these steps are that important to your case. In some instances, they may not have familiarized themselves well enough with the regulations to question the results. Instead, for those who are inexperienced in this area, they typically just assume the officer did his or her due diligence.
An experienced OUI attorney knows that there are small things that can make the results invalid. This representative can ask for test operator certifications, machine calibration, and any paperwork and logs needed.
Not Personally Checking the Location
Many lawyers don’t personally go check the location where the arrest occurred. By failing to visit the scene, your representative doesn’t know what the area looks like. Unfortunately, they could be missing a key piece of evidence.
An arrest on a high traffic or slanted road can make the testing difficult. The road conditions might have been the reason for the erratic driving.
That is why it is important for your legal representative to visit the scene. By seeing the circumstances of the location, your lawyer may be able to point out problems with the case against you to the jury.
Failure to Explain the Penalties
Sometimes lawyers don’t want to scare their clients by going into all of the possible consequences that come with a guilty plea or a conviction. They want to make you feel at ease. However, if your representative doesn’t tell you about the penalties, they are committing malpractice.
They might tell you about potential jail time. However, it is not the only consequence of pleading guilty. You could face a significance fine, higher insurance rates, loss of job, or even something as simple as not being able to rent a car later.
An experienced OUI attorney will explain all these possibilities before you enter into any deal with the prosecution.
Putting You on the Stand
Believe it or not, when you go to trial, it is not always a good idea for you to defend yourself on the stand. Unless you are an experienced witness, you could come across as nervous. This is not the best situation if you are trying to convince the jury you’re innocent.
It is your lawyer’s job to show that the prosecution doesn’t have a strong case. Instead of proving the prosecution has a weak case, your representative has to instead focus on showing you are credible and honest.
Yes, there is a point to putting you on the stand. However, unless you can contradict something the arresting officer said, then you should stay off the stand.
You need an experienced OUI attorney to keep these mistakes from being made. You owe it to yourself and your future to ask any potential representative what their experience with these types of cases is. It will help you determine if this person is able to represent you adequately.