DUI Lawyers

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by kaldaniels

Your thoughts on the Donte Stallworth case? (I'll even give you a head start...the pedestrian was jaywalking)

I'm all for people getting a fair shot...but note I said "subset", so I was not knocking all defense attorneys. Don't turn it into that.

It's my understanding that Stallworth plead guilty to DUI manslaughter, got sentenced to a jail term, a fine, and had his license revoked for life. He also paid a substantial sum to the family of the victim to settle any civil liability he might have had. Whether I feel his sentence was too light or not, I can't say. I'd have to compare it to what others in Florida have received under similar circumstances. I haven't seen many cases where someone was killed. Mostly first time offenders who had one too many and made the mistake of driving home.

In my experience, very few persons with DUI get off. Most end up pleading to some kind of DUI offense with the respective penalties based on their past record. In those cases, the lawyer has typically informed the court and the prosecutor of any mitigating circumstances to ensure their client received a fair sentence under the sentencing guidelines and, if they're a first time offender, had the opportunity to resolve things without the conviction ruining their life. Most courts have some kind of program for first-time offenders which allows them to go through an intervention program in lieu of jail time. I think most courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys want to see these people get help and be a positive contributing member of society. However, there are many traps for the unwary in the legal system, which is why it's a good idea to have an attorney help you if you've been charged with a criminal offense that carries the potential of jail time. The few cases where I've seen someone get out of a DUI charge involved police officers failing to follow proper procedures according to their training, which resulted in a successful suppression of the evidence.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by TeamSelig

False.

I have talked to officers who say they have quotas to meet. After a Google search, I'm just going to post the first result I found, which is a local news story about it.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/5298686/detail.html

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by TeamSelig

Three drinks? Not sure how accurate this calculator is but if you are about 180 lbs, drank 3 beers (12oz), over a span of 2 hours, you are at a .02, which is basically nothing.

Man, you really should have taken that breathalyzer.

I really doubt that that's true. I was once told that one drink per hour will result in a BAC of .010, which is over the legal limit.

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

The few cases where I've seen someone get out of a DUI charge involved police officers failing to follow proper procedures according to their training, which resulted in a successful suppression of the evidence.

I have talked to an attorney who hired a PI to inspect several of the breathalyzer machines at local police stations in a northern part of Ohio. He said all but one of them was improperly installed and/or maintained. Which would, of course, be grounds for suppression of those breath test results.

I have little doubt that similar results could be found around here.

Thus, the importance of hiring a good attorney.

[TeamSelig]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

I have talked to officers who say they have quotas to meet. After a Google search, I'm just going to post the first result I found, which is a local news story about it.
http://www.wlwt.com/news/5298686/detail.html

The quota is denied in that very same article. Sounds like a lazy officer that got disciplined. Officers may have 'personal goals' that they strive to meet. The closest thing to a quota that you will find is contact "quotas", where they are required to make some sort of contact with the public X amount of times per shift, but there are never any minimum arrest or ticket numbers.

[top6]

Can you afford a lawyer? If so, get one.

Given that you posted this question on a baseball message board, you ended up getting some pretty spectacular advice, namely from Caveat Emptor. It is hard to imagine a better source of free information for you than someone who has prosecuted DUIs (if I understand his posts correctly). The advice was that you are pretty screwed, fair or not. You need a lawyer.

You also got a lot of advice on here from smart, well meaning people, but they don't seem to be DUI lawyers. I work in the legal profession, and I can tell you that I would never attempt to dispense advice on DUIs, and would have no clue what to do if someone asked me what they should do in your boat. So I'm not sure how much advice from people who don't specialize in this area is worth, unless that advice is the advice I am giving you, which is find someone who knows what they are talking about.

If you can't afford a lawyer, this sucks, but I would start calling every lawyer in the phone book and see if you can work something out financially. If there is anyone who would loan or give you the money, see if you can work something out there. It's not fair that someone with more money would have an easier time with this than you, but it is the reality and you desperately need guidance from someone who knows what they are doing, IMO.

[TeamSelig]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

I really doubt that that's true. I was once told that one drink per hour will result in a BAC of .010, which is over the legal limit.

.08 is the legal limit.

So by what you were told, you'd have .03 which very close to .02 like the calculator came up with. It cannot be exact, as everyone is different, but sounds like it could be a good rough estimate.

[camisadelgolf]

Originally Posted by Raisor

camis,

Ever get around to looking at what you were charged with?

It is violation codes 02109 (DUI--but I'm not sure if it's aggravated or not) and 00403 (S.O.L.).

[TeamSelig]

http://kentuckystatepolice.org/viola...oCodeOrder.pdf

OPER MTR VEH U/INFLU ALC/DRUGS/ETC. .08 (AGG CIRCUM) 1ST

I'm assuming the 'AGG CIRCUM' means it is aggravated DUI.

The 00403 is failure to register vehicle.

[camisadelgolf]

Here's what the report says (it's mostly illegible, but I'm making some guesses):
Dispatched to a suspect passed out behind the wheel upon arrival. Above was slumped forward at the wheel. The vehicle was in drive and above's foot was on the brake. Lt. Riley opened the driver's door and put the car in park before waking the driver. There was a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle. It took a strong effort to wake the suspect up as we helped him out of the vehicle. He had trouble with maintaining his balance. I did not feel that it was safe to administer field sobriety test to the suspect because he might injure himself. He was arrested and taken to the jail. While riding, implied (word I can't recognize at all) above kept interrupting. When (word I can't recognize at all) finished, he consulted seven attorneys from the phone book.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

It is violation codes 02109 (DUI--but I'm not sure if it's aggravated or not) and 00403 (S.O.L.).

Well I know SOL basically means.. blank out of luck.

[Deepred05]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

The best ovi lawyer in my little corner of here would charge him $1500 to 2000 for a 1st ovi and no operators license. A good bit more if it went to trial. Also, an attorney may tell someone not to submit to the breathalyzer because if you blow and blow over the limit, you lose a major opportunity to get a not guilty finding. Other than that, yeah, go ahead and blow.

Fifteen hundred is what they call a retainer around these parts.
But I wasn't talking about just the attorney fees. Dui classes, ankle bracelets, special devices outfitted on the car so that you cant start it if you have been drinking, and of course your new car insurance (cause you are getting dropped) all adds up to a pretty little sum.

I was stopped once having drank two beers, and I blew 0.00 and I weigh around 180. Not sure if the alchohol had enough time to get thru my system or not, but two beers is my limit.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by camisadelgolf

Actually, I think driving without a valid license helps my case in the sense that it would be very easy to drop the DUI and still have something to punish me for. In my experience, the courts are always looking to compromise, and that seems like an easy decision to make.

I'm not sure whether the courts will see it this way or not, but hiring a lawyer will save you bookoo bucks overall. I had some issues driving with a suspended license in my past, hired a lawyer to go to court with me over a new speeding ticket, and he was able to talk to the DA.

IMO opinion, you're definately better having a lawyer who knows the talk to speak with the DA about any possible compromises.

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by Deepred05

Fifteen hundred is what they call a retainer around these parts.
But I wasn't talking about just the attorney fees. Dui classes, ankle bracelets, special devices outfitted on the car so that you cant start it if you have been drinking, and of course your new car insurance (cause you are getting dropped) all adds up to a pretty little sum.

Yeah. Good point.

[BoydsOfSummer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZF1JSgzas