Do You Need a Drunk Driving Attorney If You Get a DUI

Do You Need a Drunk Driving Attorney If You Get a DUI Addiction Alcohol Use Drunk Driving Print Pros and Cons of an Attorney If You Get a DUI By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Updated on September 24, 2019 Vstock LLC/Getty Images More in Addiction Alcohol Use Drunk Driving Binge Drinking Withdrawal and Relapse Children of Alcoholics Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery Does it help to hire an attorney if you are charged with driving under the influence (DUI)? Or will hiring an attorney instead be another in a long line of expenses if you are charged with a DUI? The answer depends on if can you afford it and if are you truly innocent. If this is your first drunk driving offense or your first brush with the law for any reason, expect that you might be in for an expensive process. Do You Need an Attorney? DUI is a serious offense that could affect your future and employment. Attorneys will tell you that you need to hire an attorney who focuses on defending drunk drivers. Attorneys promise they may be able to save your drivers license or get your drunk driving charge reduced or dismissed. The key is the word may. An attorney may be able to reduce charges or preserve your driving privileges, but this is not guarunteed. There was a time when hiring a drunk driving attorney could result in you being able to plead to a lesser chargeâ€"such as reckless drivingâ€"pay a fine and be done with it. But that was before all 50 states passed what is known as drunk driving per se and other laws, making it mandatory for intoxicated drivers to be judged on the DUI charge. 10 Things You Should Know About Getting a DUI Blood-Alcohol Level Determines Guilt What the per se laws say is, in every state in the U.S., if your blood-alcohol content (BAC) is above the legal limit, which measures at 0.08 or above by breath test or blood test, you can be found guilty of DUI. It does not matter that you were not staggering or slurring your words or in no other way appeared to be intoxicated, your BAC level alone is all the evidence needed to convict you of DUI. One key to determining if hiring a drunk driving attorney will do you any good is knowing  your BAC level at the time of your arrest. If you recorded 0.08 or higher, there is little doubt that you will be convicted and have to pay all the fines, fees, and extra expenses involved with having a DUI conviction on your driving record. In some cases, having an attorney wont make a difference. If your blood alcohol level measures .08 or above, you will lose your license, be required to pay fines and/or higher insurance rates, and will face conviction. Your License May Be Suspendedâ€"Lawyer or Not As of April 2017,  41 states  (Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee are the exceptions) have passed administrative license suspension laws that allow law enforcement officials to immediately confiscate and suspend your drivers license on the spot if you fail a field sobriety test or record a BAC level over the legal limit. These laws allow your drivers license to be suspended as an administrative sanction, completely independent from criminal court proceedings. The reason is since a state can give you your driving privileges, the state can take a privilege away. In those nine states that do not have administrative license suspension laws, your license is not suspended until you go to court, but it is suspended if you plead guilty or are convicted. In most states, if you refuse to take a breath test, your license is immediately confiscated and revoked. How Field Sobriety Tests Can Be Used Against You Other Charges or Circumstances at the Time of DUI If there are other factors that could cause you to receive an enhanced sentence, such as, a repeat offense, property damages, injuries, or endangerment of a child, you may have aggravating circumstances. An attorney may be able to help mitigate some of those factors, but in many states, even those sentence enhancements carry mandatory penaltiesâ€"especially for repeat offenders. In some cases, hiring an attorney may not help much, if at all, in the long run. Circumstances That Can Make a DUI Sentence More Severe Obvious Circumstance Where You Should Hire an Attorney In the event that you are truly innocent, such as you were not drinking at all, but failed the field sobriety test or the breath test, then if you can, hire an attorney. You will need one. Do not try to represent yourself if you plan to argue your innocence, you should seek legal counsel. Ways an Attorney Can Help Mostly what an attorney can do for you is make sure you are prepared to go to court by helping you understand what is going to be expected of you. An attorney can help you complete some requirements prior to your court appearance. For example, your attorney may help you obtain SR-22 auto insurance and file the proper forms with the department of motor vehicles. Also, your attorney may have you complete an alcohol education or treatment programs required by your state in order to regain your driving privileges. In other words, your attorney can guide you through the process that he knows you will eventually have to go through anyway. But you can do so prior to sentencing so that your driving privileges will be restored as quickly as possible. Bottom Line If you can afford to pay a DUI lawyers fees, then hire the best attorney you can afford. If this is your first experience with breaking the law and you are baffled by the entire process, an attorney can walk you through the steps and make things go as smoothly as possible. But, if you are strapped for cash and all the fines and expenses of a drunk driving conviction are going to be a financial burden for you, hiring an attorney may not really change the outcome of your case in any meaningful way. In most cases, a lawyer represents just another bill you will have to pay. The Difference Between DUI and DWI