I don’t want to make another mistake after being caught for DUI here in Palm Beach so I want to hire an attorney to defend me. Problem is, how would I select a DUI attorney among the available ones who could help me?

Eric

Palm Beach, FL

Certain DUI cases can just be resolved by having a plea bargain and you won’t need an attorney for it but that could end up having more jail time than if you have chosen to hire a DUI attorney.

When selecting a DUI attorney in Palm Beach, it is highly suggested that you hire one who is experienced in defending DUI cases. That attorney should also be one that offers free consultations in order for you to ask the right questions before hiring them. A lot of very good DUI attorneys may not offer free consultations but you can still be able to find ones that do. There are also DUI lawyers that have Websites in which you can learn more about their practice. Before you hire a lawyer to defend you, you must know first you would be contacted regularly about the status of your DUI case. Also, you need to make sure whether that lawyer you talked to will be the one who would handle your case or one of his/her associates. Feel free to ask the lawyer as well as to what the estimate cost of total fees would be.

Keep in mind that the one you choose to defend you on your DUI case can spell all the difference and can help you avoid jail time or pay very high fines. A good DUI attorney would push you to be involved in an AA program so that you can show the courts that you have been transformed. It is also very important that you trust your DUI lawyer and have confidence in him/her and at ease working together.

I’m afraid I might just lose my DUI case here in Palm Beach, Florida because I really don’t know what to do. I know this would cost me too much time and money, but how would I know what it would really cost me to have a DUI conviction?

Franco

Palm Beach, FL

The first thing that you would have to do now after you have been charged with DUI in Palm Beach, Florida is to get a lawyer who would represent you. Hire a lawyer who specializes in DUI cases if your income allows it. This kind of lawyer would be able to give you solid information on what you could expect in terms of cost for your DUI case. You can add the lawyer’s fees into your total and you could also request an estimate or you may estimate this cost based on your lawyer’s hourly rate.

A lot of DUI lawyers offer a free consultation to go over the basic facts of your DUI case. You may ask for a ballpark figure on what the defense would cost you based on your particular situation. Also, remember that a DUI conviction could be costly for years to come. For some people, a DUI conviction would be costly in terms of employment because they’ll have limited options for the future and, in some cases, termination. Your DUI may also cost you for your car insurance rates to increase. So if you’re in search for a justifiable car insurance rates after your DUI, go on and get an online rate quote from this website.

My cousin was charged with DUI here in Palm Beach, Florida and I see that he worries too much about his auto insurance. What can he expect from his insurance company after his drunk driving charge?

Margaret

Palm Beach, FL

Most auto insurance companies check their client’s motor vehicle record once a year. Some auto insurance companies do check it only once every three years or when the client is applying for a new insurance policy. Sometimes, tickets, drunk driving or DUI convictions and accidents could escape the auto insurance company’s attention. If your cousin’s auto insurance company finds out about his DUI charge, especially if he gets convicted, he will see higher premium rates and possibly he might have the task of seeking a new auto insurance company because his current auto insurance company might not renew his coverage.

There are usually two ways that auto insurance companies deal with customers who have DUI charge. Including your cousin’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida, the first possible thing that would happen is that the auto insurance provider might cancel the policy. It would also be possible that the auto insurance company would raise the premiums due to increasing the “point” count, almost to the point of “unaffordability.” In case this happens, he can check out other auto insurance providers and he can absolutely find a good auto insurance through getting an online rate quote from this website.

Is it true that I don’t have to talk to anyone but a lawyer about my DUI case here in Palm Beach, Florida?

Jagger

Palm Beach, FL

Yes, it’s true, you definitely don’t have to talk to anyone but a lawyer about your DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida because anything you say to anyone could be used against you. If you discuss your DUI arrest with family or friends, you are risking turning them into involuntary witnesses against you. It would be in your best interest to remember the details of your DUI arrest because it would help you in your defense. In any criminal case, you should be represented by a competent defense lawyer who specializes in the specific field of law you are charged with and one who has years of experience.

You could either choose a DUI lawyer or risk the consequences of representing yourself. By hiring a DUI lawyer immediately after your arrest, you would not miss any deadlines. Judges would not know if they must protect your rights unless someone defends you. An example is that overworked prosecutors could use reports from inexperienced or over-zealous police officers to over-prosecute a DUI case. DUI lawyers are absolutely aware of these tendencies and they are trained to handle such situations. So do not ever choose to be your own lawyer because you do not know the law and you don’t know how to challenge the elements of your DUI case.

My brother is accused of DUI here in Palm Beach, Florida and I heard that he would have to pay some fees until the case is resolved. What kind of fee is this and aside from the fees and court fines, what other financial aspect of the case does he have to worry about?

Edmund

Palm Beach, FL

In a DUI case, some counties really require pretrial supervision which would include regular fees of about $20 per month until the DUI case is resolved. That would probably be the fees that you are referring to while your brother’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida is on trial. Believe it or not, this could be considered as probation even before conviction that is solely based upon the accusation of the DUI crime.

Aside from the fees and court fines, your brother would also have to worry about the impact of his DUI charge on his car insurance rate. Major insurance companies would simply refuse to give him coverage as he is already tagged as a high risk driver because of his DUI charge. For those car insurance companies that are willing to offer policies, the premium rate would depend on several factors. These factors include make and model of car driven, driving record, age, levels and type of coverage sought, marital status and if the DUI case involved a wreck or other charges. He would also have to get an SR22 car insurance and he could definitely get an online rate quote from great insurance company in Florida available from this website.

I got a DUI here in Palm Beach, Florida and everyone is telling me that I should hire a lawyer. Do I really have to hire a lawyer to help me in my DUI case?

Dave

Palm Beach, FL

Yes, you have to hire a DUI lawyer as soon as you can after you have been charged with DUI in Palm Beach, Florida. If you don’t have your own DUI lawyer, you are very likely to be lost in the foggy maze of Florida’s drunk driving laws, which change every month or so. You badly need a DUI lawyer to watch out for time limits, negotiate for you, speak for you when necessary, complete and file all the paperwork correctly on time and generally fight for your best interests. An experienced DUI lawyer knows how to challenge the DUI stop, field sobriety tests, breath and/or blood alcohol tests and the DUI arrest or when you were already in custody.

A DUI charge in Florida could even cause you to lose your driving privileges and you would also have to pay higher insurance premium rates and it could also often lead to jail time, loss of your job and expenses and inconvenience. Sad to say, it could even give you a criminal record so hiring a DUI lawyer to help you and represent you would not be a bad idea.

I’m very much curious about the Miranda Warnings relating to DUI cases especially here in Palm Beach, Florida. In case there was a traffic accident and it turned out to be a case of DUI, how important would the Miranda Warnings be?

Jenny

Palm Beach, FL

In such situation that a person is arrested for DUI Palm Beach, Florida or anywhere in the state of Florida for that matter, the Miranda warnings are required to be read to the person arrested for DUI. This specific warning is seldom needed following a DUI arrest because it deals with statements that the person arrested for DUI makes following the DUI arrest. Police officers are trained to get the necessary information with regard to how much the person drank, what he/she ate and when he/she last drank before the DUI arrest to avoid any problems with Miranda warnings (so unfair).

Miranda warnings are important in any accident case because if you are involved in an accident, anything you say to the investigating officer is protected and could not be used against you. If this accident investigation turns out to be a DUI case, the officer should then read you Miranda warnings before asking you any questions because if not, your statements would not be allowed to be used against you.

I heard that there are several roadside tests that are being conducted during a DUI arrest. Is it typical for a police officer in Palm Beach, Florida to conduct a finger-to-nose test and how is it being conducted?

Dallas

Palm Beach, FL

The finger-to-nose test is a gambit employed by police officers when doing an investigation on a driver suspected of DUI. This kind of test is not often used in Palm Beach, Florida because it is not a standardized field sobriety test recognized by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). This test is highly considered as designed to set up the driver for failure. A police officer typically conducts field sobriety tests to establish probable cause for a DUI arrest and to gather evidence to support a DUI case.

During the finger-to-nose test, the officer would instruct the motorist to tip his/her head back with eyes closed and touch the index finger to the nose. The officer would also tell the motorist to continue touching the left or right index finger to the nose at random. The clues of intoxication that the officer is looking for include inability to touch finger directly to tip of the nose, inability to follow instructions, muscle tightening or tremors, swaying or lack of depth perception. The officer would also make a note of any statements made by the motorist during the test.

After the arraignment of my sister’s DUI charge In Palm Beach, Florida, she’s already preparing for her trial. Before that, she told me that there would be a discovery motion first. What does discovery motion in a DUI case mean?

Mallorie

Palm Beach, Florida

During a discovery motion in a DUI case, the prosecution will be asked to release additional evidence. Discovery would be based on the idea that the defense is entitled to all the information that will be used by prosecutors in their attempt to convict. Most of the time, prosecutors would simply give your DUI lawyer the evidence that would make the discovery unnecessary.

There is actually an informal discovery process that often happens between the defense and the prosecution without the judge getting involved. Both parties provide the other with a list of the information that they would like to be given. The pieces of evidence that your DUI lawyer will receive in this informal discovery process include things such as the names and addresses of prosecution witnesses, statements made by you, relevant evidence seized or obtained as part of the investigation, results of scientific tests and all written or recorded statements of witnesses whom the prosecutor intends to call at a prospective trial. In your sister’s DUI case in Palm Beach, Florida, if both sides refuse provide the evidence that the other side requested, a formal discovery process begins. This would require filing motions so that the judge can decide whether or not to order that the prosecution give the DUI lawyer the evidence he/she wants.

I’m afraid that I might just lose my drunk driving case here in Palm Beach, Florida so I’m thinking not to fight it anymore. But I would still want to know under what circumstances do I have my DUI case worth fighting?

Zella

Palm Beach, FL

A good DUI lawyer in Palm Beach, Florida would tell you that a DUI case is always worth fighting for under any circumstances, if for nothing else to scrutinize the police report and give you an informed decision on the viability of the DUI case against you. There are two common scenarios in a DUI case in general. One is for having a blood alcohol content of .08 percent at the time of driving and the other one is for being under the influence of alcohol while driving and each charge has strict penalties. Aside from that, you would also have to face an administrative charge to fight against the suspension of your driver’s license.

You have to understand that you are facing a very bad situation because a DUI conviction would mean paying sky-high fines, suspension of your driver’s license, attending an alcohol program and DUI school, having an increased auto insurance of hundreds of dollars a year, having a criminal record, etc. These are just some of the reasons why you should fight your DUI case no matter what the circumstances are.