DUI defense
A DUI charge, taken one stretch at a time
A DUI arrest starts two cases at once: the criminal case in court, and a separate one about your license. I handle both, and I tell you which one needs you first.
Most people I meet have never been arrested before. They want to know whether they’ll lose their job, whether they can drive to it next week, and what this will cost. We start there. Then we go through the night itself, slowly, the way you’d go back over a road you drove in the dark.
The first look
What I check in the rearview
Before I give you an opinion, I go back over the stop from the beginning. These are the places a DUI case most often turns.
Why you were pulled over
An officer needs a lawful reason to stop a car. I read the report and watch the video for what that reason actually was.
The roadside tests
Field tests are meant to be given a set way, on suitable ground. Wind, gravel, cold, boots and nerves all matter.
The breath or blood result
How the sample was taken, when, by whom and on what machine, and whether the records hold up.
The video and the paperwork
Dash and body camera footage, the times on every form, and whether what was written matches what was filmed.
DUI questions
Asked on the drive home from the jail
Is a first DUI a big deal?
It is a criminal charge, so yes. But a first case usually has more paths through it than people expect, and what happens depends on the facts, the test and your record. I’ll tell you plainly which paths are open in yours.
My son is under 21 and was charged. What’s different?
Drivers under 21 can face a charge at a much lower alcohol level, and the license consequences can be harder on a young driver. A parent is welcome on the first call; the client, and the person I answer to, is the driver.
I refused the breath test. Does that end things?
No. A refusal usually brings its own license consequences, and it changes what evidence there is. It’s one more thing we look at, not the end of the road.
Can you promise the charge will be dropped?
No lawyer honestly can. What I can promise is that you’ll know what I found, what I think it means, and what each choice in front of you is likely to cost.
Tell me about the night of the stop
The date, the road and what you were charged with is enough to start. Leave the rest for the call.