Charged for DUI, Officer Didn't Witness, Arrested in my home.

[Devante]

Do you?

You would be nowhere near "the system" if you hadn't chosen to break the law.

Well obviously I didn't come to this forum with this question not knowing there'd be more than a few that didn't believe my story, but try not to let your life experiences make you so cynical and simply choose to advise me as if I were speaking the truth or not at all. I've come to you for help, not ridicule.

Now back to your statement about how it doesn't work like that with a public defender and also my eligibility.
How DOES it work and I thought anyone was eligible. If they do some sort of check to see if you can afford your own attorney or not, I'm sure by checking my swiftly dwindling bank statement and the loss of my job from this, they'd find I was eligible.

And as for the cost, I thought a public defender was cost free.

How does it work?

 

[Antigone*]

Well obviously I didn't come to this forum with this question not knowing there'd be more than a few that didn't believe my story, but try not to let your life experiences make you so cynical and simply choose to advise me as if I were speaking the truth or not at all. I've come to you for help, not ridicule.

Now back to your statement about how it doesn't work like that with a public defender and also my eligibility.
How DOES it work and I thought anyone was eligible. If they do some sort of check to see if you can afford your own attorney or not, I'm sure by checking my swiftly dwindling bank statement and the loss of my job from this, they'd find I was eligible.

And as for the cost, I thought a public defender was cost free.

How does it work?

Heck if you can spend $40 bucks on drinks for you and your friend, you can certainly paid for representation.

 

[Devante]

Please take an aspirin and then call an attorney. Find out how harsh your VERY LIKELY conviction will be. Based on the...P) ..story you posted here.

Not to make light of this situation but I wanted to say that the car that this happened is named the Blue Meanie.
Little blue Honda Civic.

 

[Devante]

Heck if you can spend $40 bucks on drinks for you and your friend, you can certainly paid for representation.

I see what you're saying.
Because spending $40 is a great indication that you can afford to spend upward of $10,000 or more all at once.

Well anyway I came here knowing the opportunity for true advice without cynicism or instant accusations was slim, but I thought I'd try anyway.

 

[Antigone*]

I see what you're saying.
Because spending $40 is a great indication that you can afford to spend upward of $10,000 or more all at once.

Well anyway I came here knowing the opportunity for true advice without cynicism or instant accusations was slim, but I thought I'd try anyway.

DUI representation doesn't cost $10,000 - at least not in your case.

 

[Zigner]

DUI representation doesn't cost $10,000 - at least not in your case.

It certainly can if the OP tries to push forward with a trial.

 

[Antigone*]

​

It certainly can if the OP tries to push forward with a trial.

Would certainly be a stupid move on his part.

 

[tranquility]

The classic joke is that after being involved in an accident, a person who is under the influence should go to the local bar and start drinking before the police arrive. What could the police prove?

That is a CLASSIC *JOKE*. It was not meant to be legal advice. While many try, none I know of have succeeded in turning the joke to reality. Yet, some still try. My suggestion is that if one wants to use a joke as a defense, they better get a trained professional.

 

[Just Blue]

Not to make light of this situation but I wanted to say that the car that this happened is named the Blue Meanie.
Little blue Honda Civic.

Lovely. I am sure that John,Paul, Ringo and George would be pleased to have a Honda named as such.

 

[CdwJava]

I do appreciate the replies.

As for me drinking when I got home, I have no reason to lie here, on the internet.
It's not as if I know any of you or something.

People do all the time. And even if you are not, it will almost certainly be seen as a dodge since what you claim is what many GUILTY people also claim ... and most people do not have such an experience of coming from a night of drinking, chugging a half a bottle of vodka, and then lying about it later.

So you guys are saying that, because I told them I hadn't drank when I got home, I basically did myself in?
Well that sucks. All because I just said something? How can they take an impaired person's statement all that seriously?

You can always argue that you were drunk when you said it ... but, you still have the drinking at the bar, a friend who might testify to your inebriation, a bar manager that will testify to the crash and possibly your inebriation, your seeking a ride home likely due to your understnading that you might be inebriated ... it's going to be an uphill fight.

And regarding the statement about me being crazy to think I shouldn't get an enhancement:
Even if I were completely drunk, isn't the point of an enhancement to punish you extra for being dangerously intoxicated at the time of the crime?
Not 2 hours AFTER the crime? How on earth is it right that they even think about enhancing it based on something 2 hours AFTER the fact?

The enhancement has nothing to do with being caught at the scene of the crime. It has everything to do with being impaired with a BAC of .15 or higher at the time of the arrest. Yes, you can argue issues of rising or lowering BAC to try and argue that the BAC was lower at the time of the collision ... though that would likely entail a jury buying your vodka chugging claim.

QUESTION: How big a bottle was it, and how much of it did you actually drink? And, how tall are you and what do you weigh?

Sorry, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I really do appreciate the replies so far.
I just get so angry at the state of the system these days.

Why are you angry at the state of the system? You drove while impaired and hit a light pole. No one made you do that.

Oh and another question. You mentioned it would cost $10,000+ to fight it.
Wouldn't it be cost free if I did it myself and used a public defender as an assist?

Well, yeah, but you lack the technical expertise to make much of a defense of it and many counties will not provide a public defender to ride your coattails and advise you. You can either accept the aid of the PD who will give you advice, and you can give your orders, or you will be on your own. You might want to look into this if you intend to try to act as your own lead counsel.

In 21 years I have yet to see anyone beat their own DUI without the use of legal counsel. But, I admittedly have not seen ALL criminal cases out there nor have I heard of them all.

Even with an experienced DUI attorney, a case is generally beat in one of two places: The initial contact, or the probable cause for the arrest. You will have to know how to challenge these issues if you can ... if you don't know what these issues might be or how to challenge them, well, better go with that attorney.

 

[CdwJava]

DUI representation doesn't cost $10,000 - at least not in your case.

If he goes to trial and pays for his own attorney, it may well cost more than that. At least around here, you can expect to spend that by the time a trial is over if you are offering up a zealous defense. if you go for the gusto with a dedicated DUI attorney, it'll likely cost half again as much.

 

[Devante]

Lovely. I am sure that John,Paul, Ringo and George would be pleased to have a Honda named as such.

I'm sure most would just settle for being alive.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

If he goes to trial and pays for his own attorney, it may well cost more than that. At least around here, you can expect to spend that by the time a trial is over if you are offering up a zealous defense. if you go for the gusto with a dedicated DUI attorney, it'll likely cost half again as much.

WOW! I'm moving to California.

Around here (Mass) a top shelf DUI attorney is $5K for first offense, $10K for second. It's around $2K for a middle of the road criminal defense attorney.

 

[CdwJava]

WOW! I'm moving to California.

Around here (Mass) a top shelf DUI attorney is $5K for first offense, $10K for second. It's around $2K for a middle of the road criminal defense attorney.

We have a high cost of living and there may be a larger client pool.

The last two cases I am aware of were north of $15,000 ... if the case doesn't go to trial, you might get away with half or less, depending on what must be done. Most these DUI guys work out pleas when the defense does not fall into their laps, so the costs are often kept between $5,000 and $8,000 it seems.

 

[Devante]

People do all the time. And even if you are not, it will almost certainly be seen as a dodge since what you claim is what many GUILTY people also claim ... and most people do not have such an experience of coming from a night of drinking, chugging a half a bottle of vodka, and then lying about it later.


You can always argue that you were drunk when you said it ... but, you still have the drinking at the bar, a friend who might testify to your inebriation, a bar manager that will testify to the crash and possibly your inebriation, your seeking a ride home likely due to your understnading that you might be inebriated ... it's going to be an uphill fight.


The enhancement has nothing to do with being caught at the scene of the crime. It has everything to do with being impaired with a BAC of .15 or higher at the time of the arrest. Yes, you can argue issues of rising or lowering BAC to try and argue that the BAC was lower at the time of the collision ... though that would likely entail a jury buying your vodka chugging claim.

QUESTION: How big a bottle was it, and how much of it did you actually drink? And, how tall are you and what do you weigh?


Why are you angry at the state of the system? You drove while impaired and hit a light pole. No one made you do that.


Well, yeah, but you lack the technical expertise to make much of a defense of it and many counties will not provide a public defender to ride your coattails and advise you. You can either accept the aid of the PD who will give you advice, and you can give your orders, or you will be on your own. You might want to look into this if you intend to try to act as your own lead counsel.

In 21 years I have yet to see anyone beat their own DUI without the use of legal counsel. But, I admittedly have not seen ALL criminal cases out there nor have I heard of them all.

Even with an experienced DUI attorney, a case is generally beat in one of two places: The initial contact, or the probable cause for the arrest. You will have to know how to challenge these issues if you can ... if you don't know what these issues might be or how to challenge them, well, better go with that attorney.

This is all sound and thank you.

Your question: the bottle was a half pint I believe. The small bottles that cost about $5. I drank the entire thing. I say chug but really think it took three drinks to drink the entire thing.

By the way, I didn't hit a light pole. I was in parked position, put the car in forward instead of reverse, bumped the parking pole in front (a sign that said something like 30 min parking"). It was no more a traffic accident than if you were to accidentally bump against the pole near the drive thru at McDonald's or something.

As for the system comment, it's clear that it's mostly about money and/or who you know.
And as for "you're the one that chose to drive drunk", as far as you know, I'm neither innocent nor guilty. So let's say I'm innocent and I'm about to get a DUI. Wouldn't that be seen as an injustice to you?

I have a question for you. You mentioned 21 years of witnessing DUI cases. Have you ever seen a case come through similar to mine, where the person was home for a period of time before contact was made?