Dwi
I recently got a DWI and I have been getting conflicting information for various attorneys. I understand that I don't really have much of a case to get the charges completely dropped (police had probable cause, did everything by the book and I blew .14). This is my first offense and I only have 2 speeding tickets on my record which happened over 5 years ago. Some suggested that it not even be worth spending over $1000 for a lawyer if I am just going to plead guilty because I will almost 100% likely not get any jail time. Is this pretty accurate? I really don't want to spend even 2 days in jail but also dont want to spend $1000 if I'm going to get the same punishment with or without a lawyer. What do you suggest?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Dwi
It is true that you will not be sentenced to serve jail time for a first time DWI without an accident and with a .15 test. However, you should be thinking about the long term consequences of this offense more than the short term. Once a DWI goes on your record, it's there for life. Your insurance, employability, reputation, and future contact with law enforcement will all be affected by having a DWI on your record. You may think that you don't have a chance of beating this, but you could be wrong. If you want to try to give yourself a fighting chance to keep this off your record, then you need to hire an experienced attorney who specializes in DWI defense. Most attorneys who do this work that are any good charge at least $2,500 to handle a DWI. So, I agree that it isn't worth your money to hire someone for $1,000, but I disagree that your only option is to just plead guilty. I have gotten dozens of DWI cases dropped or reduced with test results even higher than yours. Just because you failed the test, that doesn't mean you don't have a chance of winning.
Re: Dwi
It's up to you. If you are more comfortable without a lawyer, go for it. Abraham Lincoln said "he who represents himself has a fool for a client," but that was a long time ago.
Before making up your mind, however, you might want to take a peak at the following page: http://www.mn-dwi.com/six-reasons.html. You'll have to copy and paste that link into your browser.
Re: Dwi
In the 20 years I've been defending DWI cases for clients, when I have won them, usually I had no idea how I would, or if I could, win the cases until many hours of work already into them. Therefore, if a lawyer tells you that you "really don't have much of a case" that tells me the lawyer saying that is probably not a good DWI defense lawyer, and if so, I would not recommend hiring them.
A low legal fee is not a bargain in a DWI case, simply because winning a DWI case can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket over five years or more. Winning is quite valuable. It takes a lot of time and work to win these cases. They are challenging. But we do win a lot of them.
For most people arrested for a first claimed DWI, it's not about jail. It's about saving ten, twenty thousand dollars or more.
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