DUI Lawyer: Ways That This Legal Representative Can Help You

If you have been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, you may assume that you have no choice but to pay the fines and do jail time; depending on the state you live in. However, you can usually avoid having to deal with the full punishment, as a DUI lawyer can help reduce the penalties. In fact, it may turn out that your case is not even valid, and can be thrown out entirely. Either way, an attorney is a good person to have on your side. 

Once you hire a DUI lawyer, he or she will begin looking for flaws in the state's case against you. You may be surprised how often cases are thrown out because the police officers involved made a mistake. For example, perhaps they pulled you over with no probable cause, as you were driving normally and gave no indication that you had been drinking. There are various other rules that they could break during the traffic stop, and an attorney will explore these with you to find out if the officer made the wrong move. 

Another way to get rid of the charge is to discover that the equipment used to accuse you was not correct. Perhaps the Breathalyzer was not calibrated correctly, giving you a false number that was higher than it should have been. You may find that any blood tests given are inaccurate as well, or maybe the results were stored incorrectly so that they could be easily mixed up. Either way, most lawyers will explore these possibilities to find out if there were mistakes made along the way by the officer. 

Of course, perhaps you were driving under the influence, and the officer made all the correct moves. Even so, your DUI lawyer will strive to point out any good factors in your case. For example, if this is your first DUI, or even your first run-in with the law, your attorney will likely be able to get the charges reduced, also decreasing your punishment. You may be able to avoid jail in favor of probation or community service, and will likely have reduced fines, as well. 

Clearly, it is worth hiring a lawyer for your case, even if you doubt that the punishment will be reduced. There are certain rules that most lawyers know about, that most of their clients are unaware of. Thus, whether you think your punishment is likely to be decreased or not, you should at least get an initial consultation with an attorney to find out if he or she can help you