What You Tell Your DUI Defense Lawyer
Being arrested for a DUI is likely embarrassing – but being convicted is much worse. If you’re wondering what you need to disclose to your DUI lawyer, we say emphatically, “disclose everything!” – you absolutely must disclose every nitty gritty detail, even those that make you look bad.
Everything you say to your attorney will be kept absolutely confidential – it’s the law – so if you have an embarrassing medical condition or you were driving from your lover’s house and you don’t want your spouse to know – your attorney does need to know.
You’re not going to surprise or embarrass your attorney and he won’t think less of you. These are the types of things your attorney needs to know – and hears from people in your situation daily.
Why Does My DUI Defense Attorney Need to Know Everything?
Your medical doctor needs to know all of your symptoms as well as your lifestyle choices to make a proper diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan. It’s very similar with your DUI defense attorney.
Your lawyer can only investigate, strategize effectively, and develop your strongest defenses if he or she has all of the information.
Can’t I Just Tell My Attorney How Much I Had to Drink?
You’re right; how much you had to drink is extremely important to your case. However, there are many other factors that are just as important. Because you likely don’t deal with DUI defense on a daily basis, you probably don’t know all the relevant factors.
We suggest that you disclose everything and if in doubt whether something is important or relevant, disclose it and let your attorney decide whether or not to act on the information.
Besides How Many Drinks I Had, What Other Facts are Relevant to My DUI Case?
You may not realize that all of these issues are important to your drunk driving case:
- Using mouthwash or mouth spray
- Taking cough and cold medicines
- Dental work
- Acid reflux
- Heartburn
- Gastroeophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Inner ear problems
- The timing of your alcohol intake
- How much food you ate and when
- Illness
- Medical problems
- Anxiety
- How you were stopped
- What the police officer said to you
- How blood alcohol tests were conducted
- How any field sobriety test was conducted
Please keep in mind that each and every case is very different; therefore, this list of relevant facts is not exhaustive.
Your attorney will ask you questions, consider your statements, read the police report, interview relevant witnesses, research the law, and investigate to get the facts. It’s imperative that you let your attorney decide what is important and what isn’t. Do not self edit.
How to Find a DUI Defense Attorney
It’s likely in your best interests to consult with a qualified DUI defense lawyer who can fully analyze your case.
If you’d like to keep your need for a DUI defense attorney private, we invite you to use our website, www.attorneys.org. In the alternative, you can call the bar association and ask for a list of DUI defense attorneys or get a referral from a friend.
If you do choose to use www.attorneys.org to find a DUI lawyer, you’ll receive a no fee and no obligation DUI case analysis.
