Resources

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Attorneys can be expensive and particularly since this may be your first offense and you heard from your friends and family that “everyone gets the same deal, why bother with an attorney?”

1. When you go to the hospital for surgery, do you tell them, “Hey, I will just operate myself”?
2. You Don’t Know; What You Don’t Know
3. Routine Sentencing: While it is true often in court the sentence sounds the same whether you have an attorney or not, there are frequently things you do not realize happened long before the person gets sentenced. What you don’t see in court are the cases that get dismissed because the attorney found a problem with the “stop” of the vehicle. What you don’t notice in court are the cases where the person is pleading to a Non-Alcohol “Careless” or “Reckless”. So you maybe never hear that it was first a DUI charge. That is because they had an attorney who worked the case and found problems with the government’s evidence. What you don’t see is that the person who just got a 60 day jail sentence with work release was looking at the usual six month jail sentence.
4. What You Need: Every person who is charged with a DUI or DUID has something that matters to him or her. Sometimes it is jail. They just do not want to go to jail because they will lose their job. They are worried how this sentence will affect their family. Sometimes they need a shorter probation sentence. Maybe the person has to travel for work and probation would be very difficult. A good attorney can help work out your individual problem issues.
5. On Your Side: It is hard sometimes for a defendant to accept that the Judge and the District Attorney are not there for them, no matter how nice they are being to you. The only person in the whole courthouse who is working for you, to protect and help you, is your attorney.
6. Knowing the Law: Most importantly, your attorney is there to look at the evidence in your case and find the problems in the government’s case. Here is where, “you don’t know what you don’t know” really comes in. Unless you happen to be legally trained on the 4th Amendment (Search & Seizure law) or on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) regulations for the Intoxilyzer or blood draws, you will miss legal problems with your case which could make a difference between guilt and innocence. Unless you understand what to look for on the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) results or how to analyze Probable Cause, you may miss out on a dismissal or reduced charge.
7. Don’t Worry, I Got It, I Search The Internet: Almost every potential client I talk to has searched the internet (that is how they usually find me). They educate themselves about DUI charges and sentencing by searching the internet. While I want my clients to know what they are doing, the internet only goes so far. The internet isn’t going to tell you how to win at a DMV hearing. The internet isn’t going to share with you the personalities and tendencies of the law enforcement officer, the prosecutors or the judges. Your lawyer must know the law first, and then the lawyer must know how to navigate the system for their client. That is what you are paying for. The internet can only tell you what the statutes say and give you general information.
8. Intangible: What I tell clients is that working their case is like a “dance”. It is an “art form”. This is because it is about the people involved as much as it is about the letter of the law and that is an individual force dependent on your attorney. There is rarely “one thing” that is large and looming that makes or breaks your case. You want an attorney who has heart and tenacity to get all of the evidence in your case and then know what to do with it.
9. Investment:. The bottom line is, if you can afford an attorney representing you and looking at your case for errors and finding ways to give you the very best deal in your case, then do so. Neither you nor the attorney know your evidence at the beginning of your case nor do you know what twists and turns your case will bring.