DUI Lawyer – The Consequences of Not Hiring One

When prospective clients inquire about hiring a DUI lawyer, they almost always ask if it’s really necessary.  Admittedly, it can be a difficult decision to make if you think your DUI charge will be a tough one to fight, but there is almost always a benefit to hiring an attorney.  First of all, a Colorado DUI lawyer will already be familiar with the laws of the state.  Every state has different laws pertaining to DUI/DWAI offenses, varying penalties for a conviction, and their own benchmarks for blood alcohol content (BAC).  Unless you are already very familiar with the system, you can always gain more insight by hiring an attorney.

To the uninitiated, the consequences related to a DUI charge can be downright alarming, and they can have far-reaching effects on a person’s life.  A Colorado DUI lawyer can help protect your rights in the event of an erroneous charge and prevent it from wreaking havoc on your life.  Not only is a DUI stressful financially, it can also be embarrassing.  DUI arrests are routinely reported in local media and they become a part of the public record, thereby making it difficult for affected families to remain anonymous.  While it’s not always possible to undo the damage or reverse the charges, a DUI lawyer can usually minimize the consequences.

Knowing your rights in a DUI arrest is a very important place to start.  Even after the initial arrest and subsequent paper trail, most defendants do not fully understand their rights under state law.   While you may think it will be expensive to hire a Colorado DUI attorney, it will be far more costly to deal with the penalties imposed by a conviction.  Without someone to represent your interests and defend you in court, you may not know how to handle the suspension of your driver’s license, mandated treatment programs and expensive fines.  With the help of a professional attorney, you have a much better chance of keeping your driving privileges intact while the case is awaiting trial.

After explaining your rights as a defendant, a Denver DUI attorney will go through a process called discovery, where he or she investigates the circumstances surrounding your arrest.  You may be surprised to learn how often law-enforcement officers make mistakes during an arrest.  Only a good DUI lawyer will know how to evaluate a field sobriety test to ensure it was done properly.  They will also examine evidence such as Breathalyzer tests and BAC results, and find out what happened immediately following your DUI arrest.  Once all of this information has been gathered, a DUI lawyer has a much better chance at getting your charges dismissed.

Instead of asking yourself whether a DUI lawyer is worth it, you may want to ask yourself - can afford not to hire one?