Hiring a Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer
Salt Lake City is a unique place. I’ve lived and traveled all over the United States and found that few places have such an eclectic mix of people and institutions. The Avenues, a place I lived all through college and law school, is more liberal than San Francisco can ever hope to be. Just down the street on North Temple is a row of condominiums and homes inhabited by staunch conservatives. Bars line up on both sides of the street next to the Mormon Temple and Brigham Young’s home.
The crimes people receive in this moderately large city are also varied, with one exception: DUI. The offense of DUI seems to be prevalent across all socio-economic strata: I’ve defended doctors, nurses, teachers, politicians (and no, we don’t tell anyone who), police officers and other attorneys. As well as blue-collar workers and housewives. The problem I think lies in the fact that people feel fine to drive after drinking only to find out that their feeling doesn’t correspond to being under the legal limit. No one knows what they feel like at a .08-the legal limit for alcohol. The police are experts at spotting cues for drunk driving and a stop is initiated and if the officer finds that you’re impaired, the arrest comes shortly after.
So if you’ve received a DUI in Salt Lake City, What Do You Do Next?
Request Your Driver License Hearing
This is the first and foremost thing you need to do if you’ve received a DUI in Salt Lake City. You only have ten days from the date of the arrest to do this. If you’re smart and hiring a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer, then they should do this for you.
Write Every Detail You Remember About Your DUI
I’ve had DUI cases take as long as three years to resolve, if the prosecution will not give my client a deal and we have to fight tooth and nail. By the end of three years when you get on the stand to testify before a jury, how many of the details of your DUI will you remember? Chances are, not much. Right after receiving your DUI sit down and write out every detail you remember. What was the weather like? What were you wearing? Was there anything on the road when the officer had you get out of your car? What was said between you and the officer?
Even if something seems inconsequential, write it down anyway. You never know what will be helpful in your case.
Hire a Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer
I know, I know. I’m a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer telling you to hire a Salt Lake City DUI lawyer. The problem is, I’ve seen so many people railroaded by the system when they go in alone that I can’t stress this enough: JUST HIRE A SALT LAKE CITY DUI LAWYER TO TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR YOU. I know you may believe if you just go in and tell the judge how much you volunteer and that you’ve never been in trouble before they might just give you a break. Well they can’t. Even if they wanted to.
The DUI laws in Utah are crafted to provide minimum mandatory sentencing. What that means is that if you are convicted of a DUI, the judge must impose a certain sentence. The only way around the sentencing guidelines are to not be convicted of a DUI by getting the case dismissed or reduced to a lesser charge.
The Court Process
Once you request your DL hearing, write down everything you remember, and hire a good Salt Lake City DUI lawyer, you will then go through the court process. You will have an arraignment, a first hearing, in which your DUI lawyer should plead you not-guilty to allow him a chance to investigate the case (unless there’s some good reason for him not to). Then your case should be set for a pre-trial conference in which your DUI lawyer will have a deal worked out with the prosecution. If it is a good deal, and you wish to take it, you can take it that day and come back for sentencing on another day or be sentenced that same day if you like. If it’s a bad deal, your DUI lawyer may set it for motion hearings, a trial, or another pre-trial conference to give negotiating another shot. The process can take anywhere from one month (the shortest time I’ve resolved a DUI) to three and half years (the longest time it took me to resolve a DUI) in my experience.
If you received a DUI in Salt Lake City, don’t go it alone. The money you spend on a good Salt Lake City DUI lawyer is worth it in the long run.
By Yossof Sharifi
Google