TOUGHER PENALTIES IN DUI / DWI CASES LEADS TO MORE AGGRESSIVE DEFENSE EFFORTS NATIONALLY

Atlanta, GA -- June 14, 1996 -- Tougher penalties and laws surrounding a driving under the influence of alcohol or a DUI / DWI arrest and conviction are creating a tougher breed of attorneys who are fighting and winning a large majority of their cases,

State laws vary, but in Atlanta DUI / DWI penalties for a first time offense include up to a one year probationary period, 80 hours of community service, mandatory attendance of a DUI / DWI class, alcohol evaluation and fines ranging from $500-$1,000.

The worst penalty of all is an actual criminal record conviction, which remains a part of a person’s record for life. The devastating non-judicial penalties from a DUI / DWI conviction are the reason that people are seeking specialized legal assistance.

“No longer a crime committed by irresponsible teenagers, most of my clients are well-to-do citizens, professors, doctors, teachers, even other policemen,” says nationally recognized Atlanta-based DUI / DWI Attorney William C. Head. “Today you can go out and have one or two glasses of wine an be arrested for a DUI / DWI.”

Roadblocks, poorly administered and subjectively graded field sobriety tests, conducted by policeman, and tougher DUI / DWI laws are changing the demographic of a first time offender to that of the average, law-abiding, “baby boomer”.

A controversial network of national DUI / DWI attorneys called the Drinking Driver’s Defense Network (DDDN) based in Atlanta was founded by Attorney Head. The group consists of 24 attorneys nationally, who focus on winning DUI/DWI cases.

“Due to crackdowns on DUI / DWI’s by the police force, my office stays full and I will typically have 75 to 100 open, pending cases at any time,” says Head. “A substantial percentage of those cases do not receive a DUI / DWI conviction,” he says.

The reason that more people are seeking an experienced DUI / DWI attorney is that the quagmire of new laws are tougher and more complicated -- and so is the decision to arrest a suspect. This leads to police to make errors, arrests of people who should not be arrested -- and therefore with qualified legal counsel, these people will not receive a DUI / DWI conviction.

Head and the DDDN members are not in favor of drunk driving--in fact clients are encouraged to seek alcohol assessment and rehabilitation if they are repeat offenders and almost never repeat the offense. Only a small fraction of those clients who have followed a plan for treatment ever have another DUI / DWI violation.

“If the MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) folks would get together and hire someone to simplify the DUI / DWI laws, they could be far more effective in their campaign to rid the highways of drunk drivers and return a sense of normalcy to the average, non-repeat, non-criminal defendant that we support,” he says.