Driving While Impaired? Here’s How a Lawyer Can Help You

Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a crime. It’s not a crime that’s treated with much sympathy, either. Drunk drivers are responsible for killing and injuring thousands of people every year in the United States.

Unfortunately, if you have been caught driving while under the influence, you are going to be punished. However, a good lawyer will be able to minimize the punishment that you face. Every case is different, so you will be judged on the finer points of your case.

This post will tell you everything a lawyer can do to help you.

Providing Support

Being arrested can be very stressful, especially when you have been arrested for driving while impaired since it is an offense that can yield severe punishments. A lawyer will be able to give you support and help you to overcome the worries and fears that you are experiencing. According to a team of specialist Minneapolis DWI lawyers, a lawyer will zealously advocate on your behalf, protecting your rights, and minimizing your sentence. A lawyer will do all of this in addition to giving you somebody to talk to (and the support that you need). The main advantage to hiring a lawyer is that they will likely have a lot of experience with DWIs, so will therefore be able to tell you what the likely outcome of your case is.

Investigate Incident

In addition to providing support, a lawyer will also investigate your case for you, examining the case’s finer details. Your lawyer will look for mitigating factors so that they can help to reduce your sentence and punishment. In addition to looking for mitigating factors, lawyers will also try to get the case thrown out if it is possible for them to do so. Every case is different, and therefore, every case needs to be treated on an individualized basis. A professional and experienced lawyer will be able to do this, ensuring that your case and its nuances are dealt with properly.

Mount Defence

Unless you have a lot of experience in law, then there’s no way that you will be able to mount a proper defense for yourself. People who try to represent themselves in court nearly always make fools out of themselves. Representing oneself exudes a certain arrogance that isn’t looked upon favorably by judges presiding over cases (and the juries watching). A lawyer will be able to mount a defense for you that is based on logic and reasoning. They will leverage their experience to do this for you. There is no way that you will be able to mount a suitable defense without a lawyer’s help.

Statement Advice

When you are pleading guilty in court, you are usually given the opportunity to make a statement. The purpose of this statement is to convince the judge not to impose a severe sentence. Most DWIs do end in a guilty plea since a guilty plea often enables lawyers to get their clients a better deal (and most people are tested for alcohol in their blood at the police station when they are stopped by the police, so it’s hard to argue against a positive blood alcohol reading). Your lawyer will help you to write your statement, leveraging their experience and offer advice on what you should say.

Guilty Plea

As mentioned in the previous section, it can sometimes be hard for lawyers to argue against positive blood alcohol levels. However, if you did not have positive blood alcohol levels at the time that you were arrested or your alcohol levels were only just over, your lawyer may be able to make an argument for you. If you did though, then they will likely just recommend that you plead guilty. They will be able to negotiate a plea deal for you with the prosecutor so that your sentence isn’t as severe.

Negotiating Sentence

Finally, a lawyer will be able to negotiate your sentence for you, bringing it down by as much as possible if there’s no way of avoiding one. Most lawyers are very good negotiators. Having a good negotiator on your legal team will make it a lot less likely that you are going to have to go to prison or that you will get a very large fine. You should conduct careful research online before hiring a lawyer so that you can hire one that’s very good at negotiation. A lawyer’s reviews will give you a good idea of their experience level and negotiation skills.

If you have been caught driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then you need to act fast. A lawyer should be the first person that you call. With a lawyer’s professional advice and guidance, you will be able to overcome your legal difficulties and get a less severe sentence.