The Best DUI Lawyers Are Worth Their Weight in Cuervo Gold
No matter how much you study the law, there is no substitute for knowing the playing field. That is why you gain a great advantage when you hire a seasoned trial lawyer to represent you instead of going it alone. A seasoned trial lawyer who's been working in the same jurisdiction for some time has gained a working knowledge of the local court system. This means that he or she knows the judges and how they tend to rule on certain cases (their judicial philosophy.) When you combine this “inside knowledge” with a fine attache' case of tricks, you have a formidable warrior at your side. For instance, in a case which you will eventually have to plead guilty, by first entering a plea of not guilty, a crafty pro can try to guide your case along to the courtroom most favorable to your success. If that doesn't work, your attorney might even challenge the judge by filing an affidavit for cause to try to show prejudice against your case.
A good attorney will assess the merits of your case to determine wether it is worth going to a full blown jury trial. If the determination is made that the case should go before a jury, the most powerful weapons available are supporting disinterested witnesses. These would be people from the vicinity of the incident who witnessed the arrest or citation and provide testimony favoring the defendant's state of mind or actions and/or discrediting the officer's activities and motives. Nothing can turn a jury faster to the defendant's side than testimony of police brutality or harassment. It is also essential to take photographs of the scene in the event that an officer's testimony contains even the smallest error in recollection to show fallibility as this will help to admit doubt to the jury as to the validity of the officer's testimony on the whole.
Be sure to take advantage of pretrial discovery if available in your state. Going to trial without taking advantage of discovery is going in blind. Some states will allow defendants to make copies of requested discovery materials before trial, others will require them to be presented in court. By filing a pretrial motion for discovery the following materials can be obtained:
A final note:
After the trial, keep in mind that the prosecution's failure to prove any essential element of the charge should bar subsequent prosecution on other offenses which rely upon the same element by collateral estoppel.
A good attorney will assess the merits of your case to determine wether it is worth going to a full blown jury trial. If the determination is made that the case should go before a jury, the most powerful weapons available are supporting disinterested witnesses. These would be people from the vicinity of the incident who witnessed the arrest or citation and provide testimony favoring the defendant's state of mind or actions and/or discrediting the officer's activities and motives. Nothing can turn a jury faster to the defendant's side than testimony of police brutality or harassment. It is also essential to take photographs of the scene in the event that an officer's testimony contains even the smallest error in recollection to show fallibility as this will help to admit doubt to the jury as to the validity of the officer's testimony on the whole.
Be sure to take advantage of pretrial discovery if available in your state. Going to trial without taking advantage of discovery is going in blind. Some states will allow defendants to make copies of requested discovery materials before trial, others will require them to be presented in court. By filing a pretrial motion for discovery the following materials can be obtained:
results of chemical or breath tests.
written statements of the accused or transcripts of such statements.
written statements of prosecution witnesses testimony.
written statements of prosecution witnesses at the preliminary hearing.
transcripts of tape recordings of statements made by the accused and prosecution witnesses.
transcripts of statements used by the prosecution to impeach accused's witness.
notes made by the officers regarding conversations with prosecution witnesses.
photographs exhibited to victims of a crime relating to the incident.
names and addresses of eyewitnesses to a crime connected with the incident.
recordings or transcripts of conversations between the accused and police or between police and crime victims.
A final note:
After the trial, keep in mind that the prosecution's failure to prove any essential element of the charge should bar subsequent prosecution on other offenses which rely upon the same element by collateral estoppel.