If you have been involved in a DWI case, you should immediately decide whether or not you’re going to hire a DWI attorney to defend your case. You should know that attorneys charge fees that range from $5,000 to $15,000. Others even charge more. Moreover, the figures that I’ve just stated don’t include the fees that they are going to charge a client additionally for trial. If you want to save yourself some money from hiring a DWI attorney, you should properly evaluate your case so that you can determine whether or not you’re going to need the assistance of a legal professional.
You should have a copy of the complaint that was charged against you as well as a copy of the police report if it’s available. Next, you need to check your BAC or Blood Alcohol Concentration. In most states, you’re 21 years old and above, the legal limit is.08%. This means that if you go beyond this value when you’re tested, you’re going to be charged with a DWI case and you’ll surely need the help of an expert DWI attorney. If your test result shows a value that’s below 0.08%, you can still be charged but the chances are lower.
You should know the number of DWIs that you had in the past 10 years before your present offense. If you’ve had a previous case, you’re no longer eligible for the “Standard First” offer and you should strongly consider getting a lawyer to do negotiations for you. However, if you get a DWI and find out that it’s charged as a first-time case and you know you have a prior one that qualifies, you should take the deal. A 2nd or 3rd time charge will include minimum jail time so you need to take advantage of charging errors.
If you have been charged of other crimes aside from your DWI case, you need to get help from an attorney. These charges are going to complicate things and are going to heighten the minimum and maximum possible penalties so it would be way better to have a professional negotiate deals in these types of situations.
Lastly, if you think that the police officer didn’t have any valid reason to ask you to pull over, you may also want to get an attorney. Getting a copy of the police report is important because a lot of courts believe the observations of a police officer even if they’re wrong. If a vehicle code violation was not mentioned before you were pulled over, this means that you have a “suppression motion” that’s valid. You need a lawyer to file and argue this on your behalf.
