Many people facing their first charge of driving under the influence of alcohol accept the penalties and vow never to have this happen again. Other people charged with DUI decide to hire a criminal law attorney because they are at risk of more serious consequences. This might be their second or third offense, for example. They may be in a situation in which having their license suspended would prevent them from getting to work or doing a job that requires driving.
Mandatory Minimum Penalty
Hiring a criminal law attorney who handles DUI cases can help the person receive the best possible outcome in their case. Even if conviction cannot be avoided, a lawyer can often persuade the judge to issue only the mandatory minimum penalty. Since judges are allowed a great deal of discretion in DUI sentencing, this is a crucial advantage.
Possible Reasons for Case Dismissal
The first step an attorney commonly takes is to discover whether there is any reason the case might be dismissed by the prosecution or the judge. Lawyers from a firm such as Addair Thurston Chtd. look for factors like police officers not following required procedure, errors in processing evidence and malfunctions of breath testing devices.
Most people don’t realize, for instance, that higher levels of ketones produced by the body can cause a false positive on a breath test. Ketones are produced when people are on a high-protein diet with very limited carbohydrate intake, forcing the body to burn fat for fuel. Also, if the person’s body temperature was higher than normal, that also could cause a higher blood alcohol content reading.
Other factors are more complex and may lead to discussions between the defense lawyer and the prosecuting attorney. For example, the police may have arrested the client when they were behind the wheel with keys in the ignition, but the car was turned off. If the car was parked along the road, the police may have assumed that they were driving while intoxicated. However, that is an assumption and not necessarily provable. You can also follow them on Twitter for latest news and update!
