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[Krimson]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

This is probably going to sound like a stupid ? that said why do attorney(s) when asked what the penalities can be for a dui tell you and then at the end always tack on the phrase "keep in mind that the Judge can do whatever he wants to do?" Are'nt judges required to rule within the law ie.. min-max sentences? Is this pharse something attorneys are required to say? I've spoken to several lawyers and they all seem to tack on some version of this statement

 

[FlyingRon]

Judges are given a lot of leeway, especially on first offense DUI. You could end up with ARD, you could end up with 180 days.
What I can guarantee is that you'll pay $$$ no matter what they give you. The government wants money as much as anything else.

 

[CdwJava]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

This is probably going to sound like a stupid ? that said why do attorney(s) when asked what the penalities can be for a dui tell you and then at the end always tack on the phrase "keep in mind that the Judge can do whatever he wants to do?" Are'nt judges required to rule within the law ie.. min-max sentences? Is this pharse something attorneys are required to say? I've spoken to several lawyers and they all seem to tack on some version of this statement

An attorney will often tell their client what penalties they can EXPECT from the local court based upon common practice. What they might expect could be different than what the court actually does. The judge is certainly limited by law as to what he might apply to the sentence, but there is often a lot of leeway. There is no closer thing to God on Earth as a criminal court judge.

When the attorney makes such a caveat he is simply covering his butt if the judge does something that he did not expect. That keeps the client from coming back and saying, "But you said he would do ..."

 

[JIMinCA]

There is a reason why everyone hates lawyers. This is one of them. The lawyers are just trying to cover their butts... period. It is a way to convince you that their incompetence or lack of effort had nothing to do with your undesirable outcome. They suck.

If a lawyer injects doubt into your head, you may be more likely to accept a plea bargain. To a lawyer's statistics, that counts as a win. So, when you plea out because you are nervous, he gets to claim "95% successs rate!!"

The truth is... criminal court judges do NOT have as much leeway as most people would have you believe. They are constrained by the law and by the rules of court. Furthermore, they are subject to appeal. They can't simply rule based on their feelings. They are judges... not kings.