SPECIAL REPORT:
Mistakes Made After Being Arrested and Released
for DUI in Virginia.
How to avoid the 10 biggest mistakes most people make after
being arrested for DUI/DWI.
Free Virginia DWI DUI Case Evaluation
1. Not taking the matter seriously.
This is a charge that will follow you for many years if you are convicted. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will report a conviction on your driving history for at least 11 years. Your privilege to drive a motor vehicle in Virginia will be suspended/revoked for one year for a first conviction, three years for a second conviction within 10 years of a prior conviction, and indefinitely for a third conviction within a 10 year period.
The additional insurance charges alone could cost you thousands of dollars. If your license is taken away, you have to prepay for an SR-22 endorsement to your policy. Your insurance company must notify the DMV if you do not maintain your insurance. A conviction for DUI will also cause your insurance rates to go up.
2. Not hiring an attorney.
The law is complex and you need competent representation. You must raise the right defenses at the right time or you will lose them. Facts will disappear, memories fade and witnesses vanish. A winnable case can quickly become a loser.
What should you do? You need legal advice and you need it fast. You need an attorney who knows how to handle your case. You may hire a lawyer to represent you, or you may risk the consequences of representing yourself. Although you can give up your right to have an attorney and represent yourself, you should not do so.
By hiring an attorney immediately following your arrest, you tell the Court that you understand this is a serious charge, you ensure you won't miss any deadlines, you provide your lawyer the maximum amount of time to research your case, file motions, subpoena witnesses and documents if necessary, and prepare a strategy for trial. Plus, you ensure that you will not be taken advantage of by overzealous, inexperienced or overworked police officers or prosecuting attorneys.
3. Hiring an attorney based on the amount of the fee alone.
The State has almost unlimited resources when it comes to your case. You need to hire an attorney and pay a fee which will allow him to put time and effort into your case to counter the prosecution.
As attorneys develop expertise, their skills improve, they get better results and they often charge higher fees. Higher fees allow attorneys to handle fewer cases and give each case the personal attention it deserves. You wouldn't purchase a car or select a surgeon based solely on cost, and you shouldn't select an attorney based solely on cost either.
4. Not asking the Court to review the 7 day administrative license suspension during the period of the suspension.
Your driver's license will be automatically suspended for 7 days if your breath test result was more than .08, or more than .02 if you are under 21 years of age, or if you refused to submit to the breath test. If you successfully challenge the administrative suspension your license to drive will be reinstated immediately.
If you do not successfully challenge the administrative license suspension you can not drive during that 7 day suspension period, and your license will be returned to you when the suspension period expires. Driving during the 7 day suspension period is a serious criminal offense and if you are found guilty of doing so your license will be suspended for an additional period of time and you will probably be put in jail and fined.
5. Driving after your license has been suspended or revoked for a DUI conviction.
You have no right to drive after your license has been suspended or revoked and doing so is just as serious an offense as your original charge.
If you are found guilty of driving with a suspended or revoked license you will probably be jailed and fined, and your license to drive will be suspended for an additional period of time. Equally as important, you will not be able to obtain a restricted license to allow you to drive for work, school or any other reason during the additional period of suspension.
6. Hiring an attorney without any specialized education and training.
Law, like medicine, is very diverse. And attorneys, like doctors, have many different areas in which they can practice. Just as you wouldn't want your eye doctor doing your brain surgery, you don't want an attorney without specialized training handling your drunk driving case. Interview as many lawyers as you need to until you find one you like and feel comfortable with that has specialized education and training specifically related to defending people accused of drunk driving.
7. Taking the Commonwealth Attorney's first offer.
Often times, the first offer is not a bargain, it's just to get rid of your case with the least amount of work. Very few cases are dismissed or reduced to a non-alcohol charge at this stage. In addition, if you accept the prosecutor's initial offer, you lose the opportunity to have the judge rule on any constitutional challenges you may have, and you have given up your right to make the Commonwealth prove the case against you.
8. Failing to appear in Court.
If you fail to come to Court for your case, the Court will probably issue a warrant for your arrest, and once you are arrested you will probably held in jail without bond until your trial date. In addition, if you are found guilty of failing to appear in Court, it makes it more likely that if you are arrested again in the future you will be taken to jail and required to post a bond before being released.
9. Talking to anyone but an attorney about your case.
There is an attorney-client privilege which protects what you tell your lawyer and prohibits disclosure of that information without your consent. But no such privilege exists for things you say to friends, family, or others and the police and the prosecuting attorney can use those statements against you.
It is smart to write down the details of what happened and the circumstances surrounding your arrest immediatly after it occurred while your memory is fresh, and to give that information to your lawyer. You should know that all phone calls made from the jail, except to lawyers, are recorded and subject to being monitored.
10. Thinking that talking to numerous attorneys will help you handle it on your own.
You need to have an attorney go to Court with you. Attorneys have specialized education and training which you do not have, and it is this education and training which enables them to protect your rights and make sure you are treated fairly.
Fairfax VA, Loudoun VA, Manassas VA, Prince William County VA, Fauquier County VA, Warrenton VA
|
Free DUI Case Evaluation
Ten Mistakes
How to avoid the 10 biggest mistakes most people make after being arrested for DWI
Case
Tips
59 Things YOU Need to Know about Your DWI Case that NO ONE is
Telling YOu.
Police
Mistakes
Mistakes the police make . . . and how they can help you.
What Happens
After A DUI Arrest?
There are usually both DMV and Court
Proceedings.
What Can I Do to Save My
License?
Fight to save your license! If you drive after losing
your license, you face substantial penalties.
Lawyer
Mistakes
The Top 10 Mistakes Lawyers Make in Drunk Driving Cases.
. . And How To Avoid Them
Challenges
There
are many possible challenges that can be made to the
charges you are facing.
Virginia DUI/DWI Defense
Strategies
Not all of these strategies for your DUI defense apply to
every case, but many could.
Know your rights in a Virginia DUI/DWI case.
The good news? DUI cases still leave you with many
rights.
15 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Lawyer
10 Danger Signs That Your DUI Attorney May Not Be Able To Effectively Defend Your Virginia DUI / DWI
Case
Avoid Being Stopped
Suggestions to avoid being stopped by the police.
Attorney Information
Area covered. Address. Phones. I serve clients throughout
the state.
DUI Articles and Resources
Find a DWI DUI Drunk Driving Lawyer in your state.
DUI News
External Links
Home |
