Should I Hire a DUI Lawyer or Go with a Public Defender?
Regardless of the answer to this question, you need a DUI lawyer if you’re facing these charges. The total cost of a first-time DUI conviction usually exceeds $10,000. If you’re like us and you don’t have $10,000 to throw around, minimizing or eliminating the direct and indirect consequences of a DUI conviction is absolutely critical.
The choice between a private lawyer and a public defender or court-appointed lawyer is closer than many people think. Chances are, a court-appointed lawyer or public defender is a top-flight Leesburg criminal defense lawyer. Additionally, these two different kinds of lawyers use the same approach. Usually, a lawyer reviews a case, identifies all possible defenses, and uses these defenses at trial or during plea negotiations to successfully resolve the case.
Public Defender
As a rule of thumb, if the defendant is dead-to-rights guilty and a public interest lawyer is available, a court-appointed lawyer or public defender is an excellent choice. However, these two “ifs” are very big indeed.
Usually, only a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer can determine if a defendant is dead-to-rights guilty of DUI.
Assume Frank is pulled over for a traffic violation, admits he’s been drinking, fails field sobriety tests, and blows a .12, or one-and-a-half-times the legal limit, on a Breathalyzer. It may appear that Frank is dead-to-rights guilty, but appearances are often deceiving. For example, if the Breathalyzer wasn’t properly calibrated, the result is probably inadmissible in court.
Availability is usually a concern as well. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an attorney in a criminal case. But the Sixth Amendment doesn’t guarantee the right to a free lawyer in a criminal case. The Supreme Court has consistently held that only indigent defendants are eligible for court-appointed lawyers or public defenders.
Different courts define “indigent” in different ways. As a rule of thumb, if the defendant is out on bail, most courts will not consider the defendant to be indigent.
Hiring a DUI Lawyer
Effective case evaluation and guaranteed availability are just two reasons to partner with a private Leesburg criminal defense lawyer. Freedom of choice may be the best reason. These defendants can choose their own lawyers, based on an attorney’s:
- Experience: Law schools teach people how to think like lawyers and give them basic legal skills. Experience teaches people how to put those skills to work. More importantly, experience teaches attorneys how to make the law work for people, instead of against them.
- Dedication: DUI defenses often hinge on very small details. For example, when police officers read defendants their Miranda rights, they must read these rights in a language the defendant understands. On a related note, officers must read statutory DUI warnings. Since the language in these warnings sometimes changes, old cards are often out of date. Only dedicated DUI defense lawyers spot these small errors.
- Accessibility: This quality may be the biggest reason to hire a private lawyer. Private lawyers are much more accessible than court-appointed lawyers or public defenders. Usually, defendants only see public interest lawyers at court dates. At other times, the lawyer is almost totally inaccessible.
Additionally, private lawyers also represent defendants in ancillary DUI matters, like drivers’ license suspension matters and civil actions.
Rely on a Compassionate Loudoun County Lawyer
There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
alcohol.org/dui/financial-cost/
