You’ve been charged with driving under the influence. What will happen next? The first thing that you should do is retain legal counsel that can represent you. Make sure you hire professionals when it comes to a serious criminal charge such as a DUI. This is no time to settle for anything less than a lawyer that practices in this particular area. Once you have legal counsel, you will receive some advice. Here are some examples of what to expect:
Tell Your Lawyer Everything
One of the first things that your lawyer will want to do is go over everything from your perspective. In order for this time to be productive, it’s important that you tell your lawyer everything. It doesn’t matter how minor or unimportant you may think some detail happens to be. Your job is to provide your lawyer with everything that you can remember.
Your lawyer has a vested interest in hearing everything. There’s always the chance that some seemingly innocuous detail would be a game changer for your case. If your lawyer never knows about that one detail, the ability to protect your interests is hampered. Hold back nothing and let your lawyer decide what is and is not relevant to the case.
Listen Closely While Your Lawyer Explains Current Laws
You may think that you know all about the laws related to driving under the influence. If you’re like most people, much of what you believe is grounded more in myth than fact. As part of the preparation for your defense, the lawyer will go over the laws that have a bearing on your case.
Far from being a dry exercise, lawyers who honestly want the best for their clients go to great pains to explain current laws. That’s one of the things that you’re likely to find mentioned if you peruse various criminal lawyers reviews online; clients will mention that their legal counsels went out of the way to help them understand current laws. Keep that in mind when your lawyer begins to delve into those laws and pay attention.
Be Mindful of What You Say and Do Prior to the Court Date
Along with preparing your defense, the lawyer is likely to provide you with some advice about how to conduct yourself while the court date is pending. That can include being mindful of where you go and who you spend time with. For now, that may mean curtailing some of your visits to the usual places. It may also mean going out of the way to ensure that your conduct is above reproach. That last thing that you need is another incident that casts some doubt on your character or your ability to behave in a public setting.
Have Your Affairs in Order
Your lawyer cannot promise an outcome to the case. What the lawyer can do is advise you to prepare for the worst-case scenario. That involves making some plans for the future that you may or may not have to implement.
For example, you may lose your driving privileges. Even if you do not have to spend time in jail, that still means you will need to arrange for some way to get to and from work. In the event that you do have to spend some time in jail, there’s the matter of making sure your debts are paid while you serve the time. Your lawyer will point out specifics that apply in your case so you can make the necessary preparations.
Remember that the defense lawyer will employ every legal strategy in pursuit of the best outcome for the client. Cooperate to the fullest and there’s a good chance that things will end up better than you had hoped.
