What Are Some Misunderstandings Or Misconceptions People Have About DUI Charges After They Have Been Arrested?

The single biggest misconception people have regarding a DUI arrest comes from people doing their own internet research. That is really a problem because if they read government websites, they are convinced that they cannot win. However, if they read law firm websites, especially from Central and South Florida, they get the feeling that they can’t possibly lose and that’s not the truth either.

Another misconception is about the lawyer’s fee. People will often call up a defense attorney and will want to know how much he or she charges for a DUI case. That’s not a question any lawyer can answer just out of the blue. There is a very big difference between a DUI with a blood alcohol of 0.085% and one that is 0.25% and has a completely different driving pattern. Both can be first offenses, but have very different levels of risk. Information is required to set a legal fee.

The attorney would need to know if there are any hidden aggravators in a particular case as well. They could run the gamut of a number of different things, all the way down to the individual preferences of the judge. Some judges are harsh. If someone so much as bumps a traffic cone and they have no prior record whatsoever, that judge will impose ten days in the county jail as part of his sentencing even though the law does not require it.

So again, there are really a number of factors that will play into every DUI case.

[CTA]

Is It Wise To Self-Represent In A DUI Case?

One of the things that people don’t understand is when they self-represent, they don’t know what they don’t know. That’s a huge, big, fat deal because if they walk into a courtroom unrepresented, they will have a high risk of “courthouse surprise”, an unexpected jail sentence the Internet didn’t warn them about. People often forget that DUI first offender punishments and penalties frequently involve jail time for the unwary. The vast majority of first offenders who get jail time are unrepresented. If this person is simply relying on the stories from friends who have had DUIs and information they read on the internet, they often become overconfident.

If they show up to the courthouse and they enter a plea of no-contest, they aren’t going be aware if there is a legal landmine in their case. Legal landmines are not usually something in the criminal statutes. They are hidden very well and the next thing you know, someone doesn’t come home from court that day and their family starts freaking out. “Where is mom? Where is dad?” Then they find out that the main breadwinner of the family is in jail for 30 days or 45 days on a “minor” first offense DUI. They are going to lose their job and it creates a massive trauma within the family that could have been prevented.

By hiring a certified specialist in criminal law, courthouse surprise is eliminated. Courthouse surprise is an epidemic, and DUI cases are the number one type of case where unrepresented people get surprised on their first court date and go to jail.

How Public Is Someone’s Arrest Going To Be? Does Your Employer Find Out?

The newspaper is always going to report DUI arrests and the internet is going to have information as well. That’s just how it is. The reality is, people aren’t focused on DUIs the way they were 10, 15 years ago. It’s not as public in terms of a political issue. People also have to search. I don’t even know anyone who gets a newspaper every day, so it’s not like it’s thrown up on your neighbor’s front porch.

If people go online and they begin searching to find if someone has a DUI, unless there has been a proper digital erasure of some kind, then they will find it. However, it’s not like it used to be where the morning newspaper would land on someone’s desk at work or it would land on a boss’ driveway and they would routinely read the paper and see the arrest. So, the information is out there but it’s not as highlighted as it used to be.

Get Answers To Frequently Asked Questions By Someone Arrested For DUI In Florida or call the criminal defense office of Stephen G. Cobb for a FREE Initial Consultation at and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »