Okabe & Haushalter
Call Today! 310-543-7708
Call Today! 310-543-7708
Okabe & Haushalter Blog

DUI Offenders Should Retain Skilled Criminal Defense

Okabe & Haushalter Mar 15, 2018 DUI

You’ve been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol – your first arrest, ever. Maybe you’ve racked up several DUI charges while serving probationary terms, and face an extended license suspension, longer imprisonment penalties or even more fines. Defending yourself against this flurry of charges could turn lesser misdemeanors into felonies quickly.

An aggressive San Francisco criminal defense attorney could easily have charges run concurrently, have fines lowered or even jail sentences reduced to release you with time served. Judges, DA’s and those whom you hurt during your inebriated driving spree will work together in making sentences tougher on you, but skilled representation can push back harder.

With proper counsel fighting in your corner, mounds of ancillary charges could disappear, or at least get drastically lowered. Here’s why criminal defense attorneys should be hired immediately following an arrest.

Self-defense can do more harm than good

Let’s assume you’ve been booked and sent to the general population. Having never been arrested before, you’re told by jailhouse scholars that you’re able to file motions by yourself. So, you start firing off motions for a fast and speedy trial, discovery, and whatever else seems prudent. All motions get trashed, and your back at square one. All that time was wasted for naught.

Or, stepping backward, what about your initial arrest? Should cop feel compelled to ‘bully’ you into accepting guilt for things you didn’t do, what would you do? These tactics could be challenged by your San Francisco criminal defense attorney, so it’s better to ignore these egregious attempts and plead the fifth.

Down the road, perhaps you’d entertain getting these arrests and charges expunged from criminal court records to start over fresh. Provided you perform well in your trial and follow rules, you may receive this.

Doing any of the above alone could be costly, which is why you need good criminal defense attorneys.

Defendants may harshen their own sentences

What if you’re that poor sap that decided to go alone, and it’s time to write up that plea agreement? DA may put stipulations you might not understand into the agreement. You’ll sign, hang yourself, and settle for something far worse than you deserved.

Even then, however, judges can deny plea deals when terms seem ridiculously lenient, the wording was off-base, or your criminal record doesn’t merit leniency. If pleas are denied, cases end up going to trial. Apart from plea bargain disagreement, trials happen when DA lacks evidence, the arresting officer was out of the jurisdiction, or your DUI attorney knows your chances of acquittal are good.

Moreover, if your sentence was ludicrous, wasn’t agreed upon or you simply believe many errors occurred during the legal process, your lawyer will file an appeal on your behalf, which pushes the case into California’s appellate court system for review and will get remanded to the trial court or affirmed.

You’d get raked over hot coals attempting to present your case at a pretrial, jury trial or during appeals when DA’s are more skilled than you, to be completely honest.

What We Learned

Why does one need an experienced San Francisco criminal defense attorney to defend DUI’s?

For starters, DUI’s are serious crimes in California, even if you’ve never been arrested. Because other innocent people could get killed by drunk drivers, laws aren’t favorable to first-time offenders and progressively harshen as more arrests compile.

Also, laypersons working on their fifth, or first, arrest are scared enough to screw themselves out of favorable plea conditions, lower bonds or even potential release on their own recognizance. So, don’t take chances, and spring for that great defense attorney.

Been arrested for drunk driving or anything else, and need competent counsel? Phone an experienced San Francisco criminal defense attorney today.