Should I hire a DUI attorney for a first DUI?

Question:  I was arrested for a first offense DUI and I am wondering should I hire a DUI attorney or just go to court to plea no contest and take the penalty.  

The details about my case are that I cashed and totaled my truck on a wall.  The cops showed up and I did a breath test and they told me that my BAC was a +.08.  The police took me to the hospital because I had a cut on my face from the accident.  After the hospital I was taken to jail and charged with 2 misdemeanor DUI charges. This was my first arrest ever.  No prior DUI issues.  No one was injured in the accident as I did not hit anyone.  Can a lawyer help even though I was caught red handed?

Answer:  In short, I would highly recommend that you contact an experienced DUI defense attorney in your area.  There are many potential areas to attack on a DUI cases even when BAC levels are well above .08 by breath or blood test.  For example, I just got DUI charges dismissed on a 2nd offense DUI (and won the DMV hearing associated with the arrest) where my clients breath test results were .13/.13 on the PAS machine, and .13/.12 on the breath machine.   My client did not have any jail (other than the few hours he was in custody immediately following his arrest), no probation, no fines, no driver license suspension, etc.   There were issues with the breath machine that I discovered after serving subpoena’s for records and had follow up conversations and correspondence with the law enforcement forensic supervisor involved.  I was able to use what I discovered to attack the prosecutor’s case. 

Had my client not hired me and decided just enter a no contest plea at court based on the police reports and breath test receipts, he would have had to serve a jail sentence, 3 or more years of probation, expensive fines, 2 year driver license suspension, 1 year required Interlock Device (as this was a 2nd offense DUI) and other potential penalties.  He avoided all of that based on the work I did for him. 

Although hiring an attorney does not guarantee results, having a good DUI defense attorney on your side greatly increases your chances of successfully mitigating the case.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss your case and potential defenses further.