If you have recently been arrested for driving under the influence, then it is important you seek the advice of a reputable Seattle DUI lawyer. Law enforcement officials take drunk driving very seriously. Laws concerning DUIs are not only severe punishment wise, but they are also subject to increasingly open interpretation by the courts.

The penalties for a DUI conviction range from heavy fines to prison sentences. Some people have mandatory ignition interlock devices placed in their vehicles. This device requires you to blow into it in order to start the engine, and again every ten minutes while the vehicle is running. There are so many different negative implications associated with a DUI. Some can cause a great deal of shame, and many can be seriously damaging to your career, family and personal freedom.

Your fist order of business is to find a qualified and experienced Washington DUI attorney to help you deal with the pending court proceedings. They will be able to assist you through the confusing mess commonly known as the DUI Process. It seems like finding a Seattle DUI attorney would simple; just grab the phone book and find a lawyer who handles DUI cases. This is absolutely the wrong way of finding an attorney.

Don’t feel intimidated by a Washington DUI attorney. They are there to help you and are normal people just like you. The only difference between you and them is they are experts in the area of DUI law and can help you during your time of trouble.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when interviewing a potential Seattle DUI lawyer:

• Does the lawyer focus only on DUI defense or do they also handle other areas of criminal law? Only hire someone that focuses on and succeeds in DUI defense.
• Are items such as your court hearing, blood work, and expert fees included in their overall cost?
• If the lawyer guarantees they can win your DUI case, contact another attorney. No qualified DUI attorney makes any guarantees.
• Ask for a written contract to record all the expenses.
• Are they board certified by the American Bar Association?
• Are they a member of and certified by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers?

When interviewing a particular Seattle DUI attorney, choose someone who you feel like you can work with, and make sure your needs and concerns are important to them. If you don’t get that impression, contact another attorney until you find the right one.

By: Violet Ebert

No one likes to get speeding tickets. They are annoying. They are time consuming. They hurt your wallet when you have to pay the fine and if/when you have to pay increased insurance premiums. And you’ve heard that they can be beaten. And a Google search of how to beat a speeding ticket returns millions of results. So how is it done? Bottom line, most people get a traffic ticket attorney to help them out.

But what do speeding ticket attorneys do that a regular old person can’t do? Aren’t speeding tickets the bottom of the barrel when it comes to lawyering? And isn’t any attorney who works on speeding tickets a bad attorney outright? It seems like if they had any skills at all they’d be doing something a little more high stakes.

The short answer is, traffic attorneys are usually pretty good attorneys, and they take their craft seriously. Just like in any industry there are some good ones and some bad ones, some that work hard and enjoy winning cases, and some who are more concerned with collecting fees. But in the end, having a lawyer on your side to fight your speeding ticket can make a huge difference in the outcome of your case, which usually ends up being a dismissal or a finding that the violation wasn’t committed. So, how do they do it? Short answer: they lawyer up just like the guys who are doing multimillion dollar litigation and murder trials.

Most speeding ticket attorneys that I know work a case from top to bottom examining the following three topics: (1) procedural violations; (2) radar maintenance and requirement violations; and (3) substantive violations. Each presents its own opportunities for dismissal or finding of non-committed. And the reason they are done in this order is that the violations in the first category are easier to find and completely destroy the legitimacy of the ticket. When you get into category three, one starts to get into more of a gray area that may or may not result in a non-committed finding.

Procedural violations, as they sound, deal with cops, the prosecutor, and the courts following the rules they are required to follow in traffic infraction cases. Although these are easy to check for a speeding ticket attorney, for most people (i.e. the untrained eye), these would never be caught. And I could try to list all of these, but it would take too much time and would probably be pretty hard to understand. If you find a procedural violation, though, the result is a dismissal of the ticket outright.

Radar maintenance records and maintenance requirements are the second avenue a traffic ticket attorney usually proceeds down to get a speeding ticket dismissed. Because radar is often the method of catching most speeders, evidence of the radar used must be presented into evidence to get the reading of the radar admitted into evidence. And because the radar is a scientific machine that utilizes scientific information specific things must be presented to the court so it can be satisfied the machine does what it is supposed to to and was doing what it was supposed to do on that particular day. Like procedural violations, a violation here results in dismissal of the case (although here it is because the evidence is excluded from the hearing).

And finally, if avenues one or two don’t work out, the third avenue is to determine if there is enough evidence present to allow the court to make a finding of a committed infraction. What this usually means is checking the officers report for mistakes or omissions that make the ticket unenforceable. Again, this goes back to lawyering – making sure they can make the case against your client stick. And often something can be found here to at least make a convincing argument.

In the end, speeding tickets are something that can be beaten. And though it is possible to do it on your own, the skill and expertise that a lawyer brings to the table greatly increases the likelihood of victory on your part. So, the next time you get a traffic infraction, consider hiring a speeding ticket attorney. It could mean the difference between winning and losing.

By: A M Smith

Mississippi DUI Law

In Mississippi, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while you are under the influence of alcohol. It is also illegal to operate a vehicle while your blood alcohol concentration level meets or exceeds the legal limit of 0.08%. There are separate limits for persons under the age of 21 or drivers of commercial vehicles. For persons under the age of 21, the BAC limit is 0.02% and for commercial drivers, the legal limit is 0.04%. There are both criminal and administrative consequences for being convicted of a driving under the influence offense. Because these penalties have a strong potential to negatively impact your quality of life, it is important that you contact a Mississippi DUI lawyer so you have the best chances of presenting a defense that will help you to avoid a conviction or minimize the penalties imposed on you if you are convicted.

Mississippi DUI Arrests

If you are arrested for a driving under the influence offense in the state of Mississippi, it will commence two separate cases against you. One is the criminal case that you will have to go through to defend yourself against the criminal charges. The second is an administrative case with the Mississippi Department of Motor Vehicles. If you refused chemical testing or had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more, your driver’s license will be confiscated from you by the arresting officer. The only way you can try to save your license is if you contact the Department of Motor Vehicles. Once your license is confiscated, the state will try to suspend your driving privileges for 90 days to one year. In order to try to save your license, you must file a test refusal petition with the DMV within 10 calendar days of your arrest. This petition won’t stop the license suspension from occurring but it will give you the right to an informal hearing with the DMV. There is no jury present at this hearing; it is simply a review of your case to determine if the DMV agrees with the state to suspend your license or if your license will be returned to you. The decision will be made at the hearing so you will know if your driving privileges have been taken away before you leave the hearing. Having a hearing can help you in your criminal case because your Mississippi DUI attorney can cross-examine the arresting officer to determine the facts of your case.

Mississippi DUI Criminal Penalties

The penalties for a DUI conviction in Mississippi depend on the age of the offender, the number of prior offense, and any aggravating factors involved in a case. There is a look-back period of five years when prosecutors are determining what level offense you will be charged with. If you have a prior conviction that occurred within five years of your most recent conviction, you will be charged and punished as a second-time offender. If the prior offense occurred more than five years before your most recent conviction, then you will be charged and punished as a first-time offender. If you have three convictions for DUI in a 5-year time period, you will be charged with a felony DUI.

If you are under 21, a first offense will result in a fine of $250 and a license suspension period of 30 to 90 days. If you refused to take a breath test, you will be charged with an adult DUI. A second offense will result in a fine of up to $500 and a license suspension period of one year. This period can be reduced to 6 months if you complete a certified drug and alcohol program. A third offense while you are under the age of 21 will result in a fine of up to $1,000, sentencing to completion of a certified drug and alcohol program, and a license suspension period of 2 years or suspension until you turn 21.

For adults convicted of driving under the influence, the penalties may include jail time, license suspension, fines, and other punishments. First offenses may result in a fine of $250 to $1,000, repayment of court costs, 48 hours of jail time, and license suspension for one year. A second offense within 5 years of a prior conviction will result in a fine of $600 to $1,500, repayment of court costs, 5 days to one year of jail time, 10 days to one year of community service, a license suspension period of two years, and vehicle impoundment or immobilization for the entire length of the suspension. A third offense within 5 years of two prior convictions will result in fines of $2,000 to $5,000, one to five years of jail time at the state prison, a five year license suspension period, vehicle seizure and sale, and a felony on your record. There are additional penalties for driving under the influence offenses that lead to death or disfigurement. This is a felony and will result in the loss of your civil rights and make it difficult for you to get a job. If your driving under the influence offense results in the death or disfigurement of another person, you will face felony charges with a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 25 years of jail time.

Driver’s License Penalties in Mississippi

There are several different driver’s license penalties for DUI in Mississippi. Depending on the level of offense, you will face suspensions or revocations of increasing time periods. If you want to get your license reinstated, you have to attend a 12-hour alcohol safety education program at your own expense. You also must show proof that you paid all of the fines and served all of the jail time you were sentenced to by the court. There is a reinstatement fee of $100 and you must also provide proof of insurance. You may be eligible for a hardship license if you have only had one DUI offense. This hardship license will allow you to drive to work, get to medical appointments, or attend school. Your license must be suspended for 30 days before a hardship license will be granted. This hardship license is not available if you refused breath testing when arrested. If you refused chemical testing, the penalties are a 90 day license suspension for a first offense, one year license suspension for a second offense, and one year license suspension for a third offense. This suspension period is in addition to any suspension sentenced by the court and it will run consecutively to any other suspension.

By: Michael Tasner