The Consequences of Hiring an Attorney who Does not Specialize in DUI

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence here in the Pittsburgh area, you need to hire a lawyer who specializes in DUI defense. If you don’t, and you plead guilty to your charges or hire an inexperienced attorney, you will face a lot of severely negative and far-reaching consequences. Your job could be in danger because you’ve been sentenced to a long jail term and/or lost your driver’s license for a while and can’t go to work, and you could have a permanently marred criminal history.

The job of a Pittsburgh DUI lawyer is to evaluate your case, talk to the arresting officer, examine the scene, and speak to the prosecuting attorney to find mistakes that have been made in the process of your arrest and the tests involved. Even if this is the second or third or tenth DUI you have had, an experienced DUI attorney might be able to lower the level of charges against you and reduce the punishments the court will mete out. A good DUI lawyer will know if it’s possible to get your Driving Under the Influence charge reduced to something else, maybe reckless endangerment or careless driving, and will know how to go about it.

Additionally, an experienced Pittsburgh DUI attorney might be able to get you alternative punishments, such as trading jail time for house arrest, or even work release. Work release is where you spend your working hours at work, but come back to the jail for off-hours and days off. This is a great option for helping you keep your job after a Driving Under the Influence conviction. A trained DUI attorney knows to look for these things. If this is your first DUI charge, and certain conditions are met, he might be able to get you into a special program that, if successfully completed, allows you to have your criminal record expunged. This program is called the ARD program, otherwise known as the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.

If you don’t go with an attorney who specializes in Driving Under the Influence charges, or hire no lawyer at all, you could end up serving a long jail sentence and paying high fines. Your permanent criminal record will have a big red flag on it, as well, causing problems later when you want to change jobs. In the long run, any expense is worth your freedom, isn’t it?

When searching for a criminal defense attorney to represent you, make sure he or she does most of his or her work in the area of DUI. A lawyer who deals mostly with wills, family law, or bankruptcy is not going to have spent the time training to deal with DUI cases. A good DUI attorney spends hours each year in the classroom, learning about new laws, police procedures, and technologies. He has handled hundreds of DUI cases and knows the ins and outs of the criminal court system. He has been educated on the best defenses for DUI cases.

An experienced Pittsburgh DUI attorney will explain your charges to you in detail, describe the defense options that will work best for you, and stand beside you as you navigate the complex and often confusing criminal justice system.

If you have been charged with Driving Under the Influence and are looking for an experienced criminal defense attorney, the Logue Criminal Defense team if the firm for you. Serving Pittsburgh, PA, West Virginia, and Ohio, Sean Logue and his associates have the experience and training you need. Schedule a free initial consultation today by calling 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!