DUI Lawyers

[camisadelgolf]

Just an update: I had a lawyer, but we are no longer in contact with each other. Our last correspondence was Friday, and he hasn't responded to any of my phone calls since then. When I told him that I didn't want to go to trial and instead wanted to plea bargain, he stopped responding to my phone calls. Does anyone have any specific suggestions?

By the way, I could be wrong, but I believe the maximum penalty for me is 30 days in jail, $500 fine, substance abuse treatment for 90 days, and loss of license for 120 days. I'm seriously considering not having a lawyer. As long as I convince the judge to drop down from aggravated to un-aggravated, I probably won't have to worry about jail time.

[Ghosts of 1990]

If you're in Columbus, I know the finest DUI attorney in town. And I never have had the DUI but he has gotten off several of my famliy members and friends. He went to law school at UC with my uncle. PM me if you want more.

[Reds4Life]

Just an update: I had a lawyer, but we are no longer in contact with each other. Our last correspondence was Friday, and he hasn't responded to any of my phone calls since then. When I told him that I didn't want to go to trial and instead wanted to plea bargain, he stopped responding to my phone calls. Does anyone have any specific suggestions?

By the way, I could be wrong, but I believe the maximum penalty for me is 30 days in jail, $500 fine, substance abuse treatment for 90 days, and loss of license for 120 days. I'm seriously considering not having a lawyer. As long as I convince the judge to drop down from aggravated to un-aggravated, I probably won't have to worry about jail time.

Sounds like that attorney was looking to make the maximum amount of money off of you instead of acting in your best interest.

Find another attorney. If you want a little payback drop a little note to the bar association about the conduct of the attorney who is ignoring you. They won't do anything, but it might be worth it for the satisfaction alone.

[RBA]

I like the Google ads on this one. Big Brother is watching you.

[TeamCasey]

I like the Google ads on this one. Big Brother is watching you.

OMG ...... that's creepy!

[klw]

Have you paid the attorney or signed a retainer agreement? If not it may be that he or she got tired of giving you free advice over the phone. Or it could be that the attorney is handling a trial. When a trial hits it will easily consume all your time for a few days. Trial attorneys are notoriously hard to reach because they are always in court.

[Yachtzee]

Have you paid the attorney or signed a retainer agreement? If not it may be that he or she got tired of giving you free advice over the phone. Or it could be that the attorney is handling a trial. When a trial hits it will easily consume all your time for a few days. Trial attorneys are notoriously hard to reach because they are always in court.

That's what I was going to say. If he or she has a secretary or paralegal, they might be able to update you on what's going on.

[dabvu2498]

That's what I was going to say. If he or she has a secretary or paralegal, they might be able to update you on what's going on.

Ding!

A good attorney will have an even better paralegal/assistant. They'll do most of the "work" on you case and the lawyer shows up in court. This is especially the case with a crminal defense/DUI attorney. They're out hitting the bricks most of the day. At least they are if they have many clients.

And like klw said, most attorneys aren't going to give a ton of free info out over the phone.

[camisadelgolf]

I'm just going in without a lawyer. I know everyone advised against it, but I'm going to play hardball with the prosecutor. If they don't drop it from aggravated to un-aggravated, I'll threaten going to trial (at which point I'd hire a lawyer).

[top6]

Well if you're not going to accept good advice anyway, it's probably not a good idea to pay for it.

[camisadelgolf]

Well if you're not going to accept good advice anyway, it's probably not a good idea to pay for it.

The maximum fine I can get is $500, so it doesn't make sense to me to pay $2,000 for a lawyer that could do at a high price for what I could do for free.

[Reds4Life]

The maximum fine I can get is $500, so it doesn't make sense to me to pay $2,000 for a lawyer that could do at a high price for what I could do for free.

You can go to jail, your license will be suspended, etc. There is a lot more than fines involved here.

There are things a lawyer could do that you can't. You have no leverage with the prosecutor at all, and making a threat you'll go to trail means nothing to them. If it goes to trial, all they need to show is the cruiser cam tape and have the arresting officer testify and you are done.

[klw]

The maximum fine I can get is $500, so it doesn't make sense to me to pay $2,000 for a lawyer that could do at a high price for what I could do for free.

The maximum fine may only be $500 but how many thousands of dollars will your insurance go up by. You will klikely be required to carry special insurance for a number of years at a added cost of over $1000 per year. Then there are DWI classes and counseling costs that often need to be paid before reinstatement, etc. The fine is often the least of what you pay.

[camisadelgolf]

You can go to jail, your license will be suspended, etc. There is a lot more than fines involved here.

There are things a lawyer could do that you can't. You have no leverage with the prosecutor at all, and making a threat you'll go to trail means nothing to them. If it goes to trial, all they need to show is the cruiser cam tape and have the arresting officer testify and you are done.

The judge already said, on camera, that I won't go to jail, so I'm not all that worried about that. My license is going to be suspended no matter what, but it makes no difference to me since I don't have a valid license anyway.

[camisadelgolf]

The maximum fine may only be $500 but how many thousands of dollars will your insurance go up by. You will klikely be required to carry special insurance for a number of years at a added cost of over $1000 per year. Then there are DWI classes and counseling costs that often need to be paid before reinstatement, etc. The fine is often the least of what you pay.

I only need car insurance if I have a license, and I don't plan on having a drivers license for a long time anyway. I don't think there's a lawyer anywhere that could prevent me from going to some kind of treatment program, so that's a cost I'm planning on having no matter what.