Why You Need a DUI Lawyer
Hi. My name is Dale Savage and I’m a criminal defense attorney here in Charleston, South Carolina, and today I want to talk to you about why you need a criminal defense attorney for your DUI charge.
Because you’ve been arrested and taken to jail, you probably already realize the serious impact this charge can have in your life. Now you’ve got a court date most likely within 30 days from the date of your arrest, and if you go to court without an attorney, the prosecutor’s most likely going to ask you to plead guilty. And this is where a defense attorney can step in and offer you help.
Know Your Rights
As the accused in a criminal case, you have certain rights and one of those rights is the right to see all the evidence against you provided by the state. Your attorney will know how to do this and request that evidence. However, if you don’t make that request, the state is under no obligation to give it to you and they most likely won’t.
Mandatory Video Requirements
In South Carolina, the outcome in your DUI case in many circumstances depends upon the strength or weakness of the state’s evidence against you. We have what’s called mandatory video requirements, which means the police must video record the DUI investigation and that includes any field sobriety test and breath test procedures that were performed.
Your attorney will review that evidence and assert any legal defenses available to you based on how the police conducted their investigation and whether they followed the procedures required by law. If any mistakes were made by law enforcement, and they do happen, that can drastically change the outcome in your case.
Prosecutor’s Want You to Plead Guilty
If you go to court without an attorney, the prosecutor is most likely going to ask you to plead guilty. You won’t see that video evidence and you won’t know whether the police correctly followed the procedures as required by law. You won’t know whether the officer was properly certified to conduct those field priority tests or to operate that breath test machine.
Charleston, SC DUI Attorney
In many counties in this state, police and prosecutors alike, are now given awards for the number of arrests that are made and the success of those prosecutions. Often times the only thing standing between you and the weight of the state government is your defense attorney.
So if you’d like to learn more about your DUI case, please give me a call at 843-530-7813. I hope this video was helpful and thanks for watching.