Category: Criminal Law

Anytime you are going out drinking, you need to plan ahead and figure out a designated driver that is sober to bring you home. The best options are to designate a friend to pick you up or choose someone going out with you to not drink, so your car isn’t left stranded. For many of us, we don’t plan ahead for a safe ride. If you find yourself with no way home at the end of the night, there are several designated driving services you can choose from. Most of these are paid and a few may be free, dependent on location and timing.

Advantages of Designated Driving Services

When the night is over and you find yourself drunk with no way home, do not get behind the wheel and drive. There are many services to choose from that will bring you home safely. The majority of driving services cost money, but it will cost a lot less than getting charged with a DUI. Do some research to figure out what the best option is for you based off a few factors.

There are a lot of year round companies that offer this kind of service. Each works a different way, such as them picking you up in their car and driving you home. In this case, you will need to leave the car you drove behind and pick it up another day. Some services bring your car home for you and some may even drop someone off to drive your vehicle and follow you both home. There can be several rules, dependent on where you’re located, what time of day it is, and what time of year it is. Lots of states have services specific to that state and rides may even be free if it is a holiday.

Free Driving Services and Limitations

Most driving services cost money, but there are a few that will offer free rides on holidays like New Year’s Eve. Companies do this to reduce the amount of drunk drivers on the road since most people are out drinking on holiday nights. There are even some non-profit businesses that offer free designated driving services all the time depending on the state. One company that offers free towing services with limitations is A.A.A. Tipsy Towing. However, this is not currently offered in the state of Colorado.

In Colorado, the only free services currently offered are on holidays. The local public transportation called RTD offers free bus or light-rail rides in certain areas and between certain times. There are a few law firms around that may reimburse you for taking a paid service such as a taxi, up to a certain amount. There are also other programs in the mountains called the Free Ride Transit System. Every once in a while, some police departments will come up with promotional campaign ideas for free rides in order to reduce the amount of drunk driving accidents. Do some research in your area and when you find a free ride service, don’t forget to tip the driver!

Options for Paid Driving Services

There are several services that can be used as a safe ride to avoid risking a Driving Under the Influence charge. If it is not a holiday and there are no free options at your disposal, some of the most obvious paid services include calling a taxi cab or public transportation such as buses and light-rails. Public transportation can be a good option because, most of the time, you can park your car in a free lot before hopping on at a certain location. Even though these are paid, they will be much cheaper than paying for a DUI! However, you may have to leave your car behind if you drove, so designate your own sober driver if you can to avoid parking tickets or your car getting towed.

Locally in Colorado, there are designated driving services that many of us have heard of. The most popular include Uber and Lyft. These services can be called to have a driver come pick you up and bring you home in their own personal car, instead of a marked car like a taxi. These services may be cheaper depending on the time of day. Keep in mind, Uber and Lyft may offer discounted rides, up to a certain amount, or one free ride for the first time you use them. Both services will give free rides on holidays too using a special code so look online. One other paid service you may not have heard of is called Denver Roadies. This is located strictly downtown and the driver brings their own foldable scooter to place in your trunk while driving you home and then scoot off to their next destination after dropping you off.

If you want to experience a positive outcome to your case you need to fulfill your role as a good client. It is essential that you help your lawyer as much as possible so that he can win the case for you or at least try and get you the best possible result. The most important and easiest way this can be done is by truthfully answering all the questions the lawyer asks you. Be honest with him and that is the first step in helping him help you.

Small details can turn into vital information and so it is necessary for you to stop holding back even bits of information. It is for the lawyer to decide if the information is relevant or not. You do not have to worry about the lawyer cheating you because the first meeting you set up with the lawyer establishes some confidentiality rules that protect you. Rules make it impossible for the attorney to divulge anything you have said to another individual. Confidentiality is vital and lawyers abide by this. This gives you peace of mind and therefore you can talk out freely about the truth that took place.

After explaining everything and once you are sure that the attorney has clearly understood the situation it is time for you to start questioning and vice versa. It is better to have a list of questions prepared so that you do not leave out on any of the doubts.

In case of any special needs such as being able to converse in a different language, you need to clearly ask the professional if it is a possibility and this needs to be done at the initial meeting itself. You must also ask them about their availability so that you can approach them at any time regardless of the day or time. By finding out all this in the initial stages you make it impossible for yourself to be disappointed later on.

In order to identify your best match you are at liberty to make a lot of enquiries and interviews. It is good to be able to have a bunch of qualified lawyers to choose from. Though it is very rare to find a pick at your first instance, if you are lucky enough, grab the golden opportunity.

If you happen to interview many lawyers and find that there are many who you like then you can ask for contacts of past clients. Talking to old clients will help you understand the lawyer in detail.

Everyone in Florida knows that a DUI can get you arrested and sent to jail. Not fun! Similarly, many people are aware that you can be charged hefty fines and have your license suspended for DUI. Which in the state of Florida, license suspension is mandatory.

What you may not know is that there are numerous other punishments like probation or mandatory community service that can be imposed on you, not to mention the consequences tied to DUI arrests or convictions. This may affect your job, housing, credit rating, right to own a gun and other key aspects of your life forever.

Can You Can’t Get a DUI Expunged in Florida

In Florida, DUI charges are permanent and you can never have them expunged or sealed. It is against the law to acquire “a withhold of adjudication” in a DUI case. The DUI charge will stick on your records forever. It will be counted against you indefinitely.

This means that whenever any criminal check is conducted, the drunk driving charge will appear. Such background checks may be carried out in consideration of employment, admission into a professional association, insurance and rent.

Because of the very many unforeseen consequences resulting from DUI charge, it is pretty important to understand all of the relevant ramifications of a DUI. Unfortunately, if you are charged with driving under the influence and you plea to it, or are convicted after trial, it is mandatory that you receive a judgement of guilt. This is not good obviously!

Unlike other misdemeanor crimes, and some felonies, the judge has no option to “withhold” adjudication. Due to the mandatory adjudication, DUI cases can neither be sealed nor expunged.

In several areas of Florida, the office of the State Attorney gives a pre-trial diversion program. This program often excludes DUI defendants with the exception of a few counties that allow the defendant to participate.

Upon completion of the program, the attorney’s office may decide to completely drop the charge or amend it to a lesser offense. Also if it is your first offense and you can afford to hire a skilled DUI lawyer with plenty of experience, he or she can help you get your charges reduced, totally dropped, or assist in getting a not-guilty verdict after the trial.

If this happens, then expunging or sealing the charge can be attained. For example, if you manage to have the charge reduced to “Reckless Driving,” the court may withhold adjudication. With that, the defendant can then seal his or her record.

However, if charges are dropped completely or the defendant obtains a not-guilty verdict after trial, then that record may be expunged completely.

Many people are unfamiliar with the legal process when it comes to DUI charges as it can be quite confusing. If you have questions about how to go about getting DUI charges reduced so you can get your records sealed or expunged, it is advisable to hire a good lawyer to help you navigate through the tedious process. Because once you get a DUI on your record, it’s there to stay.

There is a common myth that your DWI arrest will be reduced to a lesser charge if you refuse to take the breath test or perform the field sobriety tests. This simply isn’t so. In many instances there is additional evidence that the police can rely upon to support a conviction even when you refuse these tests. For starters, the police will have the traffic infraction that they can rely upon for coming into contact with you. Here, they will argue that your manner of driving was so erratic that once could only conclude that you were impaired. Secondly it is very common for police officers to describe their interactions with you in a manner suggesting your impairment. For example, the police will claim they could smell the odor of alcohol on your breath; your eyes are red or glassy; and that your speech was slurred. These observations are independent upon whether or not you took any of the field sobriety tests or the breathalyzer test. Thirdly, should the police officer observe any open containers or drugs in your car that too will be documented and used as evidence to support a conviction even when you do not take any tests. Lastly, the typical DWI arrest require the police to engage the driver in their standardized questionnaire. Unfortunately, many individuals that have refused to take any of the DWI tests still answer these questions and, in doing so, admit drinking and specify the type and quantity of alcohol consumed. This is evidence that you are driving under the influence of alcohol.

It is important to keep in mind that the police are trained evidence collectors. As you can see, the police are building a drunk driving case against you the moment you were pulled over until the time you are booked into the jail. You may not have taken any tests but, unbeknownst to you, every action and question posed by the policeman is designed for you to incriminate yourself. The driver’s taking and failing the DWI tests is simply icing on the cake. So, is there any hope in beating a drunk driving arrest? Yes.

The best defense available is relying upon the police officer’s video of your arrest if it exists. This is the closest way of making the judge or jury eye witnesses to your case. Many police dash camera’s begin recording once the police car’s lights and sirens are activated and some programs track back a minute or so beforehand allowing the view to see what the officer saw when he decided to make the traffic stop. Amazingly, the erratic driving isn’t has bad a reported by the officer and, in some instances, do not show a traffic violation at all. If the traffic stop can be challenged, the entire case can be dismissed for a lack of evidence. Also, the video allows the court to observe your actions as you approached the police officer. Did you need your car for balance? Were you swaying? Was your speech slurred? Could you engage the officer in an articulate conversation? In other words, use the video to contradict the police officer’s conclusions that you actions were consistent with someone who was drunk. Show the court that your actions were normal. In essence, use the video to win the credibility war between your profession of innocence and the cop’s conclusion of your guilt.

If the video is helpful and you refused to take any of the DWI tests, you place yourself into the best position to obtain either a charge reduction or an acquittal of your DWI arrest.

It is important to know how to schedule employees for DFW background checks from time to time. There are going to be several times when you will want to conduct these checks in order to learn more about your employees. Regardless of what industry you are in, employees should have their backgrounds reviewed, even before they are extended a job offer. Conducting the checks can be very easy, particularly when you choose to use a third party.

Prior to Employment

You want to ensure that you are hiring quality employees. This includes making sure that a candidate doesn’t have a criminal record, a habit of stealing money from past companies, or have bounced around from job to job. While some of this information may show on the application or resume, it may not.

There are a number of individuals that will falsify their resumes in hopes of getting a good job. They don’t anticipate companies conducting background checks. This means that they assume they are safe with a few white lies.

The problem is that you don’t really know what kind of employee you are going to get. They may or may not have work for the companies that they have said they work for. They may or may not have felony charges against them, and they may or may not have fired from past employers. One of the only ways to truly verify all of the information as being correct is to conduct a DFW background check.

The information get back to you quickly, allowing you to compare it against what they have already provided. You can then use this information to ask better questions during the interview and engage them thoroughly. Once you have all of this information and you have talked to the candidate, you can determine whether they are a good fit for your company.

During Employment

It is a good idea to schedule DFW background checks even after you have employed individuals. This is because it will allow you to learn more about what is going on with them, even since you have hired them.

Things you can learn include:

• Traffic tickets received
• Legal trouble they have been in
• Bankruptcies filed

All of this information can be used to have conversations with your employees. For example, if you have an employee that does a lot of driving for you, you will want to learn about any traffic tickets that they have gotten. If they have not reported them to you, and they show up on a background check, you can call the employee to find out what is going on.

Some employees have access to important documents, cash, and more. Understanding their backgrounds will make it easier to determine if you want these employees within certain positions. Whether you are hiring someone, or simply checking up on someone, having DFW background checks are important – and scheduling them before you hire and throughout employment should always happen.

There are times when you need to hire a criminal attorney; this doesn’t mean that you are a criminal or have killed someone. Sometimes, situations go wrong and you turn out to be a criminal, according to the court of law. When you are in such a problem, you need to hire someone, who is experienced enough to pull you out of the situation you are trapped in.

But hiring a lawyer is not as easy as it seems; following are the top five things that you need to search for:

1) Is he associated with any of the legal firms?

If you really want to hire someone, who can be trusted with the problem you are going through, you have to search for a legal firm. Such firms have several professionals working under them and you can easily get the best one from the lot.

2) Can you afford his fees?

This is the second most important question that you need to ask yourself – once you meet him and discuss about the fees that he would charge for his services, you need to find out if you can afford him. Criminal lawyers charge a lot of money, at times. If you want to save your savings, you’ve got to hire someone you can actually afford. Moreover, also learn if the attorney is worth the fee he asks for.

3) Is he open to negotiate on the fees?

Sometimes, you meet angels in disguise of criminal lawyers. I have a lot of friends, who are completely in the field of law. They share the stories of their clients and tell me how they are open to negotiate with people, who can’t hire them on their fees. All you need to do is ask, without being hesitant about it.

4) Do your friends know him?

Going through references is better; if your friends have ever hired professional lawyers in the past, take their references. You never know; a good lawyer may be right next to your house! If some of your friends agree to help you, grab their hands!

5) Are you comfortable discussing your problem(s) with him?

Sometimes, the vibes of two people are so parallel that they feel good about having each other around. If you meet someone and you are able to pour your heart out to him, with regards to the crime you are involved in, he is the person, who would pull you out from the crap. Search for a lawyer with enough patience to lend you ears!

In case of a DUI case, you may want to hire the professional services of a DUI attorney. Without any doubt, DUI charges may have a lasting impact on your routine life. For a while, just figure out all the money that you are going to spend on court fees, fines and other things. In this article, we will shed some light on an important matter: is it a good idea to hire a DUI attorney who is familiar with courts? Let’s know more about it.

What Can Happen?

In a DUI case, you may have to lose your driving license or you may have to get SR22 insurance. No matter what, the first thing you need to do is get in touch with a good legal representative. As soon as you get arrested you will get a lot of flyers with a lot of ads of law firms on them. These ads come from law agencies that approach clients like you to provide their services.

Good DUI attorneys

This is how law firms get their clients and make money. However, you shouldn’t choose a one based on the bright slogans and colorful ads. How can you choose a DUI attorney to get the best results? What you need to do is hire the best DUI attorney. The good ones know how to handle such cases and approach the court.

Now, let’s discuss an important thing: is it important for him to be familiar with the court where you are going to face your case? The fact of the matter is that the law is the same for all. This is true and the fact that he knows the judge or the court won’t guarantee that you will win the case. But if he knows how the court functions or how the judge handles the case can be advantageous.

Settlement out of court

Many people get arrested in DUI incidents and most of the cases don’t go to trial. Most of the cases get settled outside the court. The thing is that you should get the best offer in order to settle the matter with the other party without taking the matter to the court of law. If he knows the court, they will know what the offer will be like. And they will try their level best to deal with the party and reach a settlement.

So, if you are going to hire a DUI attorney to handle your case, make sure you hire one who knows the court. Aside from this, you need to make sure that the DUI attorney has the expertise and skills to help you. For a positive outcome, his skills, experience and witness plays a great role. So, he should be hired based on the factors we have given above. Remember: you are not required to hire the top DUI attorney. All you have to do is make sure the professional is qualified and is familiar with the court. Hope you will find the DUI attorney you need.