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Bargain
Don’t feel hopeless about getting your charge reduced or even dismissed if you have been charged with DUI and the blood alcohol tests show you were well over the legal limit. A competent DUI lawyer will explore the issue areas most likely to result in charges being reduced or dismissed. These areas are 1) was the stop lawful? 2)can they prove you were driving?, 3) was there compliance with the appropriate breath test procedures?, and 4) was there compliance with the appropriate blood draw procedures?
A lawyer who knows DUIs, knows how to get the data to contest these issues. And a skilled DUI lawyer knows where to fight each issue. You never know what good information you will find until you start digging. To you, as a client, this may seem like a bleak prospect that you will find anything. Lawyers know, however, that a little digging will turn up great surprises.
I once had a case where the officer said my client failed to stop for a posted stop sign. When I drove to the scene during my investigation of the case I discovered that there was no stop sign posted like the officer stated in his report. That is just one of many stories that all DUI lawyers and myself could tell you of instances where a little investigation and analysis changed the entire character of the case.
Checking the blood and breath procedures and equipment is another fertile area. There are multiple, complicated, and strict procedures involved in proper breath analysis and blood draws. Obtaining all the records and matching them up to the know procedures often results in errors that will work to your benefit during negotiations. A mistake in machine calibration means that the prosecution will have a hard time proving how intoxicated your were. What are they going to do faced with the prospect of losing at trial? They are going to negotiate.
The bottom line is that investigation and analysis many times will put you in the position where you will be able to get a lesser charge or even a dismissal of the charges.
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