Closing a Case and Avoiding a Trial

It’s always important to hire an attorney experienced in handling DUI cases when you have been charged with it. There are many angles to look at in deciding what course you should follow, and you need someone to guide you who has kept up with current case law and understands how the court system works.

The first thing an attorney will do is examine the facts of your case. He will look at the number of previous DUI convictions you have had, going back ten years. He will look at your blood alcohol concentration, and will ask you questions about the traffic stop where you were arrested. He will look at the police report, as well. Once he has gathered all the information he needs to give you an informed opinion, he will describe the options available to you, and why these are the best ones. If necessary, he will research Pennsylvania DUI case law to assist him in making his determinations.

Depending on your specific case, especially if it’s your first DUI or the first in the past ten years, there may be programs you can enter that, once complete, will allow your charges to be dropped and your record expunged. In addition, every county has diversionary courts that you might qualify for, such as veteran’s court, drug court, mental health court, and more.

One should never just go to court and plead guilty to DUI. The consequences that go along with a conviction on that charge are too harsh and life-altering for that to be an option. Nor do you want to ask for a trial. A trial almost guarantees a conviction. Instead, hire an experienced Pittsburgh DUI attorney. He will know, once he examines the details of your case, if there was reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop in the first place, and if the officer had probable cause for doing field sobriety and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) tests. He will check to see if you were given warnings about implied consent in regards to the BAC tests, regardless of whether you allowed yourself to be tested or refused. He will also check the administration of the BAC test, the machine and its calibration, and the completeness of the administrator’s training. Problems with any aspect of the Blood Alcohol Testing that you submitted to, can invalidate the results.

It is important when you hire an attorney to be up front and honest with him about the circumstances of your arrest. Give him all the details, even ones that don’t seem important. If you withhold information from him, it will negatively impact his ability to help you. But, if you are honest with him, it will assist him in getting you a good outcome, up to and including getting your charges dismissed.

You may wonder why you need to avoid a trial. “Surely,” you ask, “a jury of my peers will see that I am innocent?” Sadly, this is not usually the case. A defendant is actually more likely to be found guilty if his or her case goes to trial than if he or she worked to avoid it. If at all possible, you should allow your attorney to get you a plea deal to lesser charges, if getting charges dropped entirely is not an option. If you go to trial, the prosecutor is likely to charge you with worse crimes than you could get with a plea deal.

Have you been stopped for Driving Under the Influence? Are you facing the decision to go to court or not? If so, you will need an experienced DUI attorney to help you. The Logue Criminal Defense team has defended many DUI cases, often getting DUI charges reduced or dropped altogether. Logue Law Group serves the Pittsburgh, PA area, West Virginia, and Ohio. Call today for a free consultation: 844.PITT.DUI or 844.PITT.DUI. Or, you may contact us online.