A Lot of Time and Planning Go Into Your DUI Case
Hopefully, you have chosen your DUI-DWI specialist because he or she is the best criminal defense attorney available for your case. One of the reasons you have hired your attorney is his or her reputation for winning DUI-DWI cases.
Your attorney actually sets his or her fee based upon the estimated time that will be required to handle your case, as well as charging for his or her “expertise” in this area of law.
You will spend hours with your attorney and his or her staff members prior to your trial. If trial takes place, you may spend several days together. However, you never see the long hours, and late night and early morning preparation sessions your attorney goes through reviewing your file and police reports, consulting with the experts, with his or her staff, or in reviewing legal research.
You will not be present when PowerPoint presentations or large closing boards are being created for presentation to the jury. All you see is a polished professional putting decades of experience to work on your behalf. Your attorney’s overriding concern is to help you find a way to avoid a DUI-DWI conviction by bringing to bear all of his or her talents at trial practice.
Unfortunately, a portion of the cost for your attorney includes “wait time” at court while the judge handles legal matters. You and your attorney must make court appearances sometimes when the case may not go forward for a variety of reasons. This is part of your attorney’s job – – – to be ready when called to trial.
Hence, if it sometimes seems like your attorney isn’t doing much on your case while you are waiting, this is the reason why.
While your attorney is in court, other legal matters for other clients cannot be handled. You and your lawyer are expected to sit in court and wait until it is your turn for trial. That typically means no talking, no use of cellular phones, and being able to do little else but wait.
Your DUI Lawyer’s Expertise Is Worth Its Weight in Gold
The best way to know your attorney’s level of expertise is to watch the lack of expertise among lawyers without extensive DUI-DWI experience attempt to handle a case. Much like watching a professional athlete make a spectacular play look too easy, you don’t see the years of training and experience that went into making the seasoned defense attorney’s command of a courtroom look natural. In court, when you see a polished attorney by your side, it is a great source of comfort in a nerve-racking ordeal.
You only see the end result of your attorney’s years of trial experience. You can’t see their connections or the relationships your attorney has spent time cultivating among the judges, courtroom staff and prosecutors.
Do not expect your lawyer to get favorable treatment for you because of who he or she is and who he or she knows.
However, if a judge or the prosecutor knows and respects your attorney because of his or her expertise, they may concede certain legal issues in deference to your attorney’s excellent reputation for knowing the law. This asset – – – an excellent reputation for thorough knowledge of the law – – – can help your attorney win tough DUI-DWI cases.