How A Lawyer Can Assist You When Facing Houston DUI Charges Part I
If you have been arrested and charged for driving under the influence, hiring a lawyer is essential. A DUI lawyer can help with many different aspects of your case. Legal representation is particularly important if your case goes to court. They will fight to ensure that your rights are protected.
Dealing With DUI Charges
When someone gets pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence, hiring a lawyer right away could potentially make a big difference in the outcome of their case. Having legal advice during the questioning process can help prevent individuals from inadvertently incriminating themselves. Later, the lawyer can help gather evidence that is essential to the case. If the case winds up going to trial, the lawyer will work to refute any evidence presented by the prosecution. This includes refuting the results of field sobriety tests or breathalyzer tests. Through plea bargains and negotiations, lawyers are often able to get the penalties reduced for their clients.
Helping With Serious Charges
All DUI charges are serious. However, individuals who have previous DUIs could find themselves facing felony charges. Most states elevate cases to the felony level when the accused has two or more previous DUI charges or when someone is injured or killed in the accident. Severe property damage can also lead to felony charges. Individuals facing charges like these should hire a lawyer to represent them through the entire process. The lawyer can bring in outside experts to act as witnesses and can hire private investigators to gather evidence.
Assisting In Cases Where There Are Additional Charges Or Penalties
Several factors can increase the severity of DUI charges and the subsequent penalties that anyone convicted of these charges may face. If someone is injured in the accident, the charges are usually elevated to the felony level. The severity of the injuries also will impact the seriousness of the charges. Significant property damage or death also increases the odds of felony charges in every state. Other charges that individuals might face include endangering a minor, reckless driving, or manslaughter. Charges like these require the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer.
Preventing Convictions
Ultimately, the goal of any DUI lawyer is to keep their client from getting convicted. In some cases, that means arguing on their behalf at trial in front of a judge or jury. Most of the time, however, they accomplish this through the use of some type of plea bargain. The defense lawyer negotiates on behalf of their client to lower the charges against them. This results in lower penalties, potentially preventing the need to go to jail. These negotiations can be quite delicate. Trying to reach a suitable compromise with the prosecutor isn’t always easy. A skilled defense lawyer, however, can usually come up with a plea bargain that is acceptable to the prosecution while at the same time minimizing the penalties for their client.
Visit our blog for more related articles. We also invite you to contact or call us today if you are in need of the best DWI Law Attorney in Houston. Click here for the second article in this series.