Can I Handle My Own DUI Case?

Transcript

I would always implore somebody that if you have the ability, if you have the resources; it's always a good idea to bring somebody in to handle a case. You don't want to handle a DUI case or any criminal case for that matter without representation by counsel. You're not going to be able to navigate the system, look for defenses, deal with technical aspects involved in a case in an effective manner unless you have the training to be able to do so. So I would say not only is it imperative to hire a lawyer, you really need to hire somebody that has the particular expertise in dealing with that, best suited.

I don't know anything about contract law. You come to me and ask me about looking over a contract, I'm going to refer you out to somebody that has a much better skillset in dealing with something like that. Same thing with DUI work, and even more particular in DUI work. In my practice as a criminal defense lawyer, I have tried murder cases in front of a jury, and I've tried things as simple as traffic tickets in front of a jury. I can safely say with the vast experience of jury trial work that I have in trying the gamut of all different types of cases from serious drug charges to, again, murder, to DUI cases and simple traffic cases; by far, one of the most complicated types of issues you can deal with in the criminal justice system is a DUI case.

And you can talk to people that have tried murder cases and have tried aggravated assault cases or tried drug cases, and they will not be able to tell you the last bit of information or any type of strategy or any information regarding DUI cases in the defense of DUI cases. And the reason for that is because it is very scientific in nature, and it is probably the most technical and scientifically based type of case that can go and come across in the criminal justice system. And without the training and experience and knowing how to analyze and what you're looking for in this types of cases, the person's going to be a fish out of water.

So, going to any other person and just trying to get representation; if they don't have the appropriate skillset, they're not going to effectively be able to represent you or do the job that you're paying them to.