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Thread: DUI's

  1. #1
    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    DUI's

    My bf just got a DUI and he has a few questions... I don't know what other forum would be receptive of this so.... If anyone's had one or knows anything..

    Is it worth it to get an attorney, and if so, what did s/he do for you?

    Any other advice would be appreciated.

    He wasn't speeding, no other charges were filed. He didn't do the breathalyzer, but blood sample and they havn't said what the BAC was.
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  2. #2
    Sitri
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    Default Re: DUI's

    Hire an attorney and fight it. At least try to get reduced charges. It will affect his ability to be hired for jobs, life insurance, auto insurance, etc. etc.
    It will follow him forever.

  3. #3
    God/dess FrustratedBunny's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    yes, I'd say get an attorney. There might be something that was improper about the arrest that could get the whole thing thrown out and you'll never know unless you get a lawyer.

  4. #4
    God/dess DancerWealth's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    First of all, DUI arrests almost never get thrown out on technicalities. Cops make so many of these arrests they've got it down to a science and they cross every "t" and dot every "i". Here is what will happen when you get an attorney. A good friend of mine just went through all of this. He/She is going to go and plead innocent in front of the judge at your boyfriend's preliminary hearing. In most traffic cases it never even comes to a hearing because you usually pay the ticket, go to traffic school, and you're done. If you fight the ticket, you have to go in front of a judge, make a plea and then come back for a trial. This is what your boyfriend needs to do with an attorney representing him. The reason is because 99.9999% of these cases ever see a trial. The courts don't want to deal with them and they are a huge hassle. This is all assuming though that he has no priors or a ton of tickets on his record.

    So, when the attorney pleads "innocent" then a trial date is set. Usually months down the road. About a week to ten days before the trial, the attorney will call the courts and make an offer to plea-bargain it down. Sometimes even the District Attorney's office will even call your attorney to see if you are willing to negotiate. At this point, you usually take a plea-bargain which will probably involve a small fine, and he will have to take a DUI education course. Rarely, but possibly, some community service might be issued but that's really rare depending on the state. Your overall costs will probably be about $1,000 for the attorney and expect to pay about another $500 for any fines and for the class itself. The good side is most likely he will never have a DUI conviction on his record which can really hurt him in a lot of ways years later. Should there remain an arrest for a DUI on his record, he can have his police record expunged for a few hundred dollars after his case is over.

    Also keep in mind that without an attorney, your boyfriend will probably pay almost that much in fines plus have a police record and massivley higher car insurance. There is also a probability his insurance company will drop him as well. Take my word for it, get him an attorney fast. Lastly though, make sure you smack him really hard on the head with a strong metal object for driving drunk. Jeezus...what the hell was he thinking!!!! You're just lucky you got a call from him telling you he got arrested than you getting a call from the morgue telling you he's dead and killed a family of 4 while driving under the influence. Personally, I have about a 0% tolerence for people who do that having had a friend killed to a drunk driver years ago. So please, make sure this is the last time he ever does this...if anything for the rest of us drivers out there who want to make it home alive.

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  5. #5
    God/dess FrustratedBunny's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    I guess it all depends where you live too. Where I am the attorney will go before a hearing officer at the DSMV and depose the cops involved in the arrest and any witnesses and make arguments before the officer. True, a lot of the cops are officers who specialize in DUI's and know what they are doing. Some aren't though. But all in all, get an attorney and yeah, make sure he doesn't do it again!

  6. #6
    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    Quote Originally Posted by DancerWealth
    First of all, DUI arrests almost never get thrown out on technicalities. Cops make so many of these arrests they've got it down to a science and they cross every "t" and dot every "i".
    This is not totally true. Having worked in the legal system for so long, I can honestly tell you that there have been TONS of cases where DUI arrests were thrown out on technicality. If a cop doesn't do something by the book, makes on little mistake, the whole thing can be thrown out. Even if the cop DOESN'T make a mistake, having a good lawyer who knows the judge and prosecuter can work wonders. It does happen every single day. More arrests get thrown out than people realize. That dude that has 3 or 4 DUI's on his record, very possibly got out of at LEAST that many on technicalities, etc.

    But, the rest of what DW says is correct, you never fight a serious charge (DUI, criminal acts, whatever) without a lawyer. In your boyfriend's case, you don't take just ANY lawyer, you get one who is skilled in the field. Yes, you'll pay a lot of money, but it'll save him a lot of problems in the end.

  7. #7
    Featured Member Hello_Kitty27's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    Get a lawyer. My friend got pulled over at age 19 during a road block. She had a breathalyzer of 0.02, but got arrested for 'zero tolerance' since she was underage. She didn't want her family to find out, so she didn't hire an attorney. She had to pay $500, do 100 hours of community service AND they took her license away until she was 21. AND it is on her record. If she would have had an attorney, none of that would have happened....at least not to that extreme.






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  8. #8
    Jay Zeno
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    Default Re: DUI's

    Get a lawyer, no question. Don't be afraid to shop around. The ones with the biggest ads in the yellow pages are not necessarily all that hot. It just means that they believe in the power of advertising.

    Here's a link to start clicking on names. You can read bios and qualifications of the attorneys when you go to their pages. Make sure you look for the area of "DUI" in the descriptions.

    Just provided for your convenience. If you've got your own contacts, great. But definitely, get a lawyer.

  9. #9
    Veteran Member lbt's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    A lot depends on where you are and how stiff the penalties are. I myself have gotten 2 DUIs (sounds terrible but was the same underage zero tolerance as mentioned above). If what I learned in my DUI classes is true( i definately learned something in 2 years worth) a DUI never totally goes off your record. Even if you fight it, go to trial and get a not guilty verdict it will still be there as a prior offense. On my second DUI my lawyer got me on a deferred sentance and the DUI "didnt" go on my driving record or criminal record but if I get in trouble with the law again it will come up again. just like those pesky tickets you get as a minor and they tell you the records get sealed when you are 18. I did not have a lawyer on my first one but had to get one on my second. My lawyer definately helped me on the second one, but i am glad i didnt pay for a lawyer on my first. I I have friends who got a lawyer on thier first offense and he ended up plea bargining the exact same thing for them as i plea bargined for myself without the lawyer fee. This was before CO was making penalties more harsh though. If you live somewhere where they are particularly still with penalties, it may be the best option to err on the side of caution and have hm get a lawyer

  10. #10
    Veteran Member piper_monroe's Avatar
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    Default Re: DUI's

    I got a DUI many years ago and here's something that many people don't know: Assuming this is a/his first DUI and you do not reoffend or do ANYTHING bad traffic related during your probation time (mine was 2 years) including speeding tickets, once your probation is up you can have your DUI expunged in most states. It's another $1,500 here in California and it takes 3 months, but it will be erased off of your record to anyone who looks for it - minus the federal government - which includes potential future employers. This is what I did and now I work as an EMT which in Cali means you have to be approved and registered with the state. Once my DUI was expunged it was not a problem and I even got approved by the DMV to get my ambulance drivers licence which is considered a commercial drivers licence.

    So there is hope if your boyfriend is convicted but he needs to be absolutely certain nothing else goes on his record after the DUI, even the most minor of traffic violations. I believe that a person can't have a prior record either for an expungement to be approved. Basically, a judge will look at your record when your lawyer applies for the expungement, see that you only had the one DUI and nothing else ever, that you sucessfully completed probation, paid your fines, have stayed out of trouble and are a good citizen and will say "Okay, this DUI was a one-time thing on an otherwise whistle-clean record, I'm erasing it."

    If you google DUI expungement you'll find heaps of info.

    Oh yeah, and I absolutely got a lawyer after my arrest. He may not be able to get you out of the DUI but he will go to the DMV hearing (which is separate from the court hearing) and try to get them to not take away your boyfriend's drivers licence for more than the required minimum of 30 days. Some people get their licences taken away for 6 months!
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