If you are charged with driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, then you should know that the penalties could be severe. Many people in this situation tend to avoid contacting an attorney, thinking that they’re in so much trouble that no amount of legal assistance could possibly help. The fact of the matter is that hiring an attorney can only improve your chances of walking away from such a situation with a far more favorable outcome than tackling it on your own. Elliot Wiesner is a New Jersey attorney who has been helping drivers fight DWI and DUI charges for more than a decade, and he feels that it is important for people to know that in these situations, the help of a lawyer can really go a long way.
The benefit of hiring a lawyer to deal with a DWI or DUI charge is the fact that attorneys have the ability to see the big picture and come up with defense strategies that can work to your advantage. Because lawyers are so familiar with the laws and circumstances relating to DWI and DUI offenses, they can evaluate the specific details of each situation and figure out a way to reduce the penalties involved.
If you’re caught driving while intoxicated, then an attorney like Elliot Wiesner who really knows the ins and outs of DWI laws can analyze any official documentation relating to the incident in question to come up with a defense strategy. An attorney can review police or accident reports and study breathalyzer results to ensure that everything was done or administered in a proper fashion. If an attorney discovers, based on these official reports, that certain procedures weren’t followed correctly, then he can use that information to either get you off the hook or, at the very least, minimize your sentence.
In fact, a good attorney will do a fair amount of digging in order to come up with a reason why you shouldn’t be convicted as charged. This might include looking for technical errors with the documentation, evaluating the training of the officer charging you with the offense, and assessing the effectiveness of the breathalyzer machine to ensure that it was properly calibrated at the time of the so-called incriminating reading. Some attorneys will go so far as to bring in an expert witness as part of their clients’ defense. Of course, the average person isn’t nearly familiar enough with the procedures and technicalities involved in a DWI charge to defend himself properly. By refusing to hire an attorney, you might be truly depriving yourself of a plausible defense that could end up clearing your name or significantly reducing your punishment.
The next time you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having been charged with DWI or DUI, contact an attorney and get somebody knowledgeable on your side. What you’ll pay for in attorney fees, you are far more likely to save in reduced penalties, time, and aggravation.
