Important Reasons To Put An Experienced DUI Lawyer On Retainer
A charge of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can have serious ramifications on your future. You risk everything from losing your drivers license and insurance policy to serving time in jail and paying an expensive fine.
To minimize or possibly eliminate any risk from this charge, you need to hire a DUI attorney to represent you. These reasons are some to put an experienced DUI lawyer on retainer after you are arrested.
Proving Your Real Blood Alcohol Content Level
Law enforcement agencies typically use their own in-house laboratories to test DUI arrestees' blood alcohol content levels. These labs can sometimes get the BAC level wrong and indicate that people are over the legal limit at the time of their arrests.
When the lab at the jail indicates that your own BAC was over the legal limit, you can have your urine or blood sample retested. Your drunk driving lawyer can subpoena the sample from law enforcement and send it to a third-party laboratory. With the help of your drunk driving attorney, you may be able to prove that your blood alcohol content was under the legal limit when you were arrested.
Arguing Down the Charges
The prosecutor may want to charge you to the fullest extent of the law for your drunk driving charge. However, your record may not warrant the full punishment. In fact, if you are a first-time offender, you could be eligible for a lesser punishment that may not involve having to go to jail or even paying an expensive fine.
Instead, your DUI lawyer can argue down the charges and convince the judge to give you a lesser punishment. He or she can argue that you have no prior DUI offenses on your record and therefore should not go to jail. You could have your case decided with you just receiving community service or being sentenced to a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program.
After you complete your court-ordered community service or drug or alcohol rehab, you could have your DUI attorney file to have your record expunged. Your DUI arrest will not be visible to anyone who conducts a criminal record search on you.
These reasons are some to hire an experienced drunk driving attorney to represent you. A drunk driving lawyer can have your blood or urine sample retested. He or she can also argue down the charges to a lesser punishment. Find a law firm near you like Cohen Law Offices, LLC today.