A charge of driving under the influence or operating a vehicle while intoxicated can have serious consequences, even if it is your first time. For those that can afford to hire an attorney to manage an OWI or DUI charge, it is always recommended to have an attorney by your side. With your driver's license at risk and your ability to get to work potentially hampered, it's important to defend the charges against you no matter what is going on. Even if you want to plead guilty, an attorney can help reduce the consequences of your actions and give you the legal advice you need during this time.
A DUI Attorney Can Help You Avoid Jail
While the consequences of a first DUI don't often involve any jail time, a subsequent offense can generally land you in jail. When your liberty is at risk, you will need to find the resources to hire a qualified DUI attorney in your area. When you have legal representation, you have a person on your side who will try to negotiate your case in order for you to avoid any potential jail time.
Protect Your Privilege to Drive
Driving is considered a privilege that you earn from successfully getting your license. In the case of a DUI, you can end up getting your license suspended for a number of reasons. If you refuse any field sobriety tests, your license is automatically suspended. A DUI attorney can help you by arguing your case and advocating for your need to be able to drive to work. While you might not be able to drive all the time, getting to work is considered an essential need and you may be able to retain this privilege.
Plea to a Lesser Offense
If this is your second or subsequent DUI charge, it's vital to try and get your charges reduced to a lesser offense. In most states, DUI consequences get more severe each time you plead guilty or are found guilty. A DUI attorney will understand the intricacies of this area of law and be able to guide you in the process of pleading guilty to a lesser offense.
When you are charged with a DUI or OWI, you can avoid a trial with the help of an attorney who can bargain on your behalf. This is a serious charge, and you deserve to have legal representation through this process.
Share12 December 2018
After I was in a car accident, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the future. I had some really significant back and neck pain, so I started talking with a lawyer about how to recover some of my losses. I began working with an attorney to take care of things, but I was nervous about how the process would unfold. I began working with the attorney to evaluate every component of the incident, and help me to decode the problems I was faced with. We worked on learning more about the lawsuit, and it helped me to make sense of the situation. Learn more about accidents on this blog.