DUI Attorney Costs

The wisest thing you can do if you have been charged with Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol in or around Pittsburgh is to hire a DUI lawyer who has the experience and training necessary to fight your charges. However, good attorneys are expensive, and right now you’re facing court costs, fines, and the possible loss of your income. You might be thinking it’s not worth the money to hire a DUI attorney, and that it’s cheaper to plead guilty and be done with it. When you think about the real costs of a DUI, you’ll see it’s not true.

The laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are the laws of Pittsburgh in regard to Driving Under the Influence. You will receive a fine, and have to pay for and attend a mandatory traffic school. The amount of your fine will vary according to your previous record, your Blood Alcohol Content, the kind of driver’s license you have, and whether your case involved an injury, a death, or an accident. Fines range from $300 to $10,000.

Additional costs, not to mention headaches, come in when your insurance company finds out about your DUI conviction. If they don’t drop you, your rates will skyrocket. You will have to pay for an ignition interlock device to be installed on your car. This device will only allow you to drive after it tests your breath and approves you to start and drive the car. Typically, an ignition interlock device costs around $1,000.

Don’t forget to count time lost at work. Even if you escape a conviction, you’ll have to take time off to go to court. If you get convicted, though, you could spend two days to 60 months in jail, which means no work. Then you add in the mark on your permanent, public criminal record, a record that your boss, any future employers, and your neighbors can all see, and you may find yourself without a job and unemployable.

The above-mentioned jail time and fines are based on a conviction for a simple DUI. If yours happens to have involved an accident, injury, or death, the penalties increase exponentially and could involve tens of thousands of dollars in fines and years in prison.

Lastly, at a minimum, you’ll lose your license if you are convicted of DUI and your freedom if you go to jail. Isn’t the cost of preventing all of this worth it? Can you assign a dollar amount to the value of maintaining your freedom and a clear criminal record? How important is it to you to be able to drive yourself where and when you want to?

Many attorneys charge by the hour, even criminal defense attorneys specializing in DUI. Others, Logue Law Group included, charge a flat fee. The fee is based on the number of previous DUI’s you have and the other charges, if any, you are facing.

Keep in mind that an attorney who specializes in defending DUI cases has a high likelihood of getting your charges either reduced or dismissed altogether. That’s not something that’s likely to happen if you try to defend yourself, and won’t happen at all if you just plead guilty.

That sounds a whole lot better than paying thousands of dollars and losing out on a paycheck while you’re in jail.

If you or a loved one have been charged with Driving Under the Influence in or around the city of Pittsburgh, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney. Sean Logue and his team serve the counties around Pittsburgh, PA, the City of Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Ohio. To reach out and schedule a no-cost initial consultation with an experienced Pittsburgh Criminal Defense lawyer from Logue Law Group, call us today at 844.PITT.DUI or 844.PITT.DUI. Or, you can contact us online.

Don’t wait to call! The longer you wait to hire an attorney, the more difficult it becomes for him or her to get a good outcome for you and your case. Call today!