1

2

Introduction

If you are reading this material, that means you are concerned about a recent Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge, or you want some insight on how to pick the right lawyer for your case. This may be a difficult time because of your arrest. I know after 20+ years of practicing law that people who get arrested for DUI are often anxious and can’t stop thinking about the potential outcome.

I wrote this guide to give you the knowledge and power to ask essential questions to your potential DUI defense lawyer, as well as for you to have the insight to consider what aspects of an attorney will best suit your needs for your DUI case.

If you would like to discuss your DUI case with me, or any attorney of my firm, please feel free to call us at 407-228-3838. The meeting is free and we would be happy to sit down and talk to you.

-William Umansky “The Lawman”

Call Me Today for a Free Consultation

407-228-3838Bill@thelawman.net

3

Chapter 1

Initial Appearance

Okay so you've been arrested for DUI. Taken down to the jail, searched for drugs and contraband, and weapons and stripped of all your valuables.

You're booked into jail, fingerprinted, photographed and now placed into a holding cell with some scary man standing next to you. Although it is fairly cold in the jail,

sweat begins to pour out of your forehead, and you ask yourself “When am I getting the hell out of here”?

Lucky for you, under Florida law you will see a judge within 24 hours. That hearing is called an Initial Appearance.

4

In most cases you will post a bond on your DUI case and never see a judge at initial appearance. However, if you can’t post bond for some reason, this first Court appearance is called an Initial Appearance. The timing of your initial appearance will depend on what time of day you were arrested. Under Florida law, a person arrested and incarcerated for that arrest is required to see a Judge within twenty-four (24) hours of your arrest in order for you to be held legally in jail. At this appearance, you will stand in front of the Judge. The Judge will review the affidavit submitted by the law enforcement officer that arrested you for DUI. This affidavit is usually referred to as a probable cause affidavit. The Judge will determine if there is probable cause to believe that you committed a DUI. The finding of probable cause by a Judge is a very low burden for the law enforcement officer to meet. In order to find probable cause that you committed a DUI; the Judge just has to see some type of evidence linking you to Driving Under the Influence type behavior.

If the Judge finds that there is probable cause that you committed a DUI, if you are eligible, the Judge will set a bond for you. The Judge might also set certain conditions on the bond. In a DUI case, the Judge may order you not to drink while your case is pending or that you not go to any bars or places that serve alcohol until your case is over. If the Judge sets these conditions then you must comply with these conditions until the resolution of your case. Your lawyer can file a Motion with another Judge requesting to

5

change the conditions of your bond set by the initial appearance Judge, but until that Motion is granted, you must comply with these conditions or risk a bond revocation and going back to jail. These Court appearances are short and very procedural. This is not the time or the place to discuss the facts of your DUI case and this is not your trial. Remember everything that you say is recorded and can and will be used against you later. So, stay quiet.

At your initial appearance, the Judge might ask you if you want the services of the Public Defender’s Office. More than likely you will have been asked to fill out a Financial Affidavit prior to seeing the Initial Appearance Judge. If you say yes, and you qualify (meaning your income or lack thereof falls into an indigent status), the Judge will appoint the Public Defender’s Office to represent you. If you later hire a private lawyer, it is not a problem that the Public Defender’s Office was temporarily assigned to your case. The private lawyer that you hire for your case can file a Motion with your Judge asking to substitute in as your Counsel on the case. Once granted, which happens relatively quickly, the Court will recognize and communicate with your privately retained lawyer.

Not every person that is arrested will have an initial appearance. Sometimes you will have a bond set for you as soon as you enter the jail and be eligible to be bonded out immediately. If a friend or family member posts your bond quickly after you are arrested, then you will not get an initial appearance. However, with DUI cases some people have to see a Judge, because they want to make sure you have time to sober up before you get out of jail. If you do

6

go to your initial appearance, you must be courteous and nice to the Judge. They hold your fate in setting a bond and getting out of jail.

The lawman says: Stay quiet at your initial appearance and let the Judge set a bond for you! And, then start to work on getting the heck out of the big house!

7

Chapter 2:

What is a bond?

So you saw the judge and were given a $500 bond, you may be asking yourself what is a bond? Is the judge giving me money? No, silly! It’s not a U.S. saving bond that you can deposit in your bank account and it’s not a dividend or stock you can save. It’s simply a monetary promise that you will show up for court!

Some people that are arrested will never see a Judge for an initial appearance. Some crimes are eligible for a bond as soon as you are fully booked into the jail. In a DUI case, chances are that you will set a bond. A bond is a cash money payment to the jail. This payment must be made in order for you to be released from the facility. The idea behind a bond is to help insure your appearance for Court. If you do not show up when you are supposed to or if your lawyer does not properly waive your appearance for court, you are in danger of forfeiting the bond initially posted in your case. Also, there is a good possibility that a warrant will be put out for your arrest. Most of the time when a bond is forfeited, it is gone forever.

The amount of bond that you are required to post is correlated with the type and degree of the charges you are facing. Normally, most DUI charges are misdemeanors and

8

your bond amount will be much lower than if your charged were felonies. However, if the Judge knows that you have an extensive criminal history or that this is a repeat offense, the Judge could raise your bond even on a misdemeanor DUI offense.

So you saw the judge and were lucky enough to be given a bond or the arresting officer in his or her infinite wisdom gave you a bond amount on your charging affidavit.

You’re ready to get out, but what should you do? You certainly don’t want to spend another minute in lock-up with Bubba, so what’s the next step?

The mysterious posting of the bond. There are a couple of ways to post your bond.

Way #1: Cash Bond-

This is the term used when your friends or family members are able to get enough cash together to cover your entire bond amount. Using a cash bond to post bond in most cases is better than using a bondmen. If your friends or family member have the financial means to post the entire cash bond, then it is suggested that you use this route.

9

One reason some people prefer to post a cash bond over another type of bond is that you will get the benefit of the entire cash bond coming back to you in one form or another.

For example, if your friends or family members post a cash bond and your case is eventually dropped, then the entire amount of the cash bond will be returned to the person that posted the bond on your behalf. Another possible scenario arises when your case does not get dropped, but you take a plea bargain to resolve your case, either to a DUI or maybe a reduced charge. In this scenario, you will most likely be required to pay courts costs, fines, and cost of prosecution and costs of investigation. If you posted a cash pond, then the Court will take the court costs, fines, and costs out of the cash bond. If the cash bond was big enough, and there is additional monies left over, then the Court will return the rest of the cash bond to the person that posted your bond. If the cash bond was not big enough to cover all of the court costs, fines, and cost, then you will be responsible for the difference. Either way, posting a cash bond, seems to be the easiest way to get the benefit of all of the money used to post your bond.

Way #2: Bondsmen-

A bondsman is a person that makes their living posting bonds for people. Most of the time a bondsmen is used when your friends or family members do not have enough cash on hand, or cannot get enough pulled together, to post your entire bond in cash. If this is the case, your friends or family members will need to be able to come up

10

with at least 10% of your bond amount to give to the bondsmen. Most bondsmen also require your friends or family members to put up collateral property to insure the remaining portion of your bond.

To understand why the bondsmen’s require collateral, we must remember that the purpose of the bond is to insure your appearance in Court. If your bond is posted through a bondsmen, and you fail to appear for a Court date, then they bondsmen will lose his money to the Court. The bond will be forfeited. But, the bondsman is somewhat protected financially if this happens because his bond is insured by your friends and families collateral. He can take their property to recoup his losses. So, remember, if you fail to appear for Court your friends and family members will lose their collateral to the bondsmen.

Because the bondsman does not want to lose his money, he will attempt to help you get to Court. Sometimes they will send you letters and help you keep track of your Court dates. However, they are not lawyers, and they are very busy, so they often forget and miss Court dates. They can by no means be your only source to rely on to find out when and where to be in Court. Also, a bondsman is like a Bounty hunter if you fail to appear in Court. They have the ability and authority to track you down and bring you to jail or to Court if you have missed a Court date. The bottom line is that your bondsman does not want to lose their money, and they will go to great lengths to make sure that does not happen.

11

The lawman says, “Hire a Bondsmen they can make the bonding process much easier!!!”

Chapter 3

Driver’s License

I have to work. I have to go to school. I have to take my kids to school/ to the doctor. I live by myself. I am freaking out. I NEED MY DRIVER’S LICENSE.

You are not alone. Most Floridians think that they cannot survive without a Driver’s License. However, according to the laws of the State of Florida, driving is a privilege and not a right. So, when you get arrested for a DUI charge your driving “privileges” will be placed in jeopardy.

You might say, “I have not even been found guilty of DUI. How can they take my license before I am found guilty?” The answer is that they CAN and they WILL. Your privilege to drive is governed by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and this is a completely separate agency than the criminal courts. They abide by an entirely different set of rules.

When you are arrested for DUI and either take the breath test and blow over the legal limit or refuse to take the breath test your license will be immediately suspended. Now, how long this suspension will last and whether or not you will be able to drive while your license is suspended varies from case to case and person to person.

12

First things first, you will be issued a DUI citation. You should be handed this citation when you bond out of jail, along with other paperwork. This citation looks like a typical traffic ticket, much like a speeding ticket, but carries with it much greater penalties. Be sure to get the citation and keep it in a safe place. It is very important. If you are not handed a citation, you can normally go to the agency that arrested you and request a copy. You will need this citation, so however you must get, you need to. You are given a copy of the citation, a copy goes to the criminal courts, and a copy immediately goes to the DHSMV starting your driver’s license woes.

The citation is your Temporary Driver’s License for ten (10) calendar days. You will need to have the original citation with you in your car and it will allow you to drive, for Business Purposes Only, for ten days from the date of your arrest. Business Purposes is usually work, school, medical and church. Normally, a law enforcement officer will find that you are involved in “business” if you are engaged in an activity that is needed to maintain your livelihood. But, be warned and be careful, if you get pulled over while driving with this type of temporary permit, you will be asked to explain yourself. If they law enforcement officer feels that you are driving outside of what is permitted under the law, then you will be going back to jail on another criminal charge.

During the first ten (10) days after your arrest, it is critical that you hire a lawyer that can help guide you through the Driver’s License preservation process. You only have this short window to try to save your driver’s license. If you do nothing in these ten days, or your lawyer is not able to save your driver’s license, you

13

will go into a period of time where you will not be able to drive at all. It is very important that you follow these rules. If you are caught driving on a suspended license, you will most definitely go back to jail.

Sometimes if you are arrested on a Driving on a Suspended License Charge, the Judge will make you stay in jail there until your DUI case is resolved because you committed a new law offense. Regardless, it is not good and will complicate your DUI case. So, do whatever you can to get a hardship license within the first ten days. Florida has a process where you can get a Hardship voluntarily if you have never had a prior DUI conviction and you enroll in a DUI school. The trade off is that, if you waive your right to a hearing, you are agreeing to the suspension. Call a DUI Attorney immediately to see whether you should waive or have your DHSMV hearing.

Most private lawyers that handle DUI cases will handle the criminal case, but will also help you navigate your driver’s license issues as well. When interviewing prospective lawyers, make sure that you are clear on what parts of your DUI case they will handle. You want a lawyer that will help you understand what is going on with your driver’s license and will help you stay driving as long as possible.

The lawman says, “Don’t get caught Driving on a Suspended License or you will be headed back to the big house!!!”

14

Chapter 4

Consequences of a DUI Charge

In the previous chapter we have discussed the implications of a DUI arrest on your driver’s license and initially the loss of your license will most likely be your biggest concern. But, as your case progresses, there are many more consequences of a DUI charge that will keep you up at night, such as jail, probation and having a permanent stain on your record that you can never escape.

DUI charges are considered “enhanceable” offenses. This means that the more DUI charges/ arrests that you have, the harsher the penalties can be.

For those of you that have never had a DUI charge before, you are most likely facing probation, classes, community service, fines and drug testing if you plead guilty to the charge before going to trial. There are certain minimum punishments that the prosecutor will ask for in your sentence and that the Judge must impose under Florida law. If you plead to a DUI charge, even the best lawyer cannot escape these minimum penalties. However, a good lawyer will try to reduce the impact of your sentence on your life and negotiate your punishment so that you will be successful in completing the Court’s order. Because a DUI charge is a criminal charge, you could face jail time. Normally,

15

jail time is reserved for repeat offenders. However, a prosecutor may seek jail time on any DUI case. It is common for a prosecutor to ask for jail time on a first time DUI if the facts are particularly egregious.

Some aggravating factors could include a minor in the car at the time of the DUI arrest, a bad car accident, or a very high breath test level.

If this is your second, third, or fourth DUI, you will be facing much more stringent and harsh penalties if you plead guilty to your DUI offense including jail time, ignition interlock device, and very long court ordered driver’s license suspensions. Each DUI case is as different as the Defendant charged, but when there are multiple arrests for DUI, prosecutors normally jump to the conclusion that the person has a substance abuse problem. Whether this is true or not, it might be a good idea to begin the process of substance abuse treatment. Depending on the situation, some clients choose to go into a residential treatment facility, some will start outpatient drug/ alcohol treatment, while others will start going to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings. If you choose to do any of these things, keep good records. While treatment is important for self-preservation and leading a healthy life, it will also help your lawyer negotiate a better deal with the prosecutor on your case.

Apart from the active requirements imposed when you plead guilty to a DUI charge, there is one punishment that is more far reaching than the others. If a person pleas to a DUI charge in the State of Florida, there is a mandatory adjudication of guilt.

16

This means that the charge will never leave their record. There will be no expungement or sealing of this record and it will remain on the person’s criminal background for the entire world to see forever.

While this might seem minimal initially, as you are scared of going to jail, etc., but as you look into the future, this will have greater implications on your like than any other consequence of a DUI charge. It is important that you have a lawyer that will do their very best to try to get your DUI charge dropped or reduced to a less serious offense to try to avoid this permanent stain on your record.

The lawman says, “Do everything you can to make yourself look good to the prosecutor, your lawyer will need ammunition in trying to get your DUI case dropped or reduced to a less serious offense!”

17

Chapter 5

Criminal Justice Road Map

You have been arrested or charged with a DUI. You are out of jail and facing your next court dates. You might be asking, “What happens next? What court dates are coming up?”

The process is confusing. No Worries. We will go into detail over the next few chapters about the process and each court date. For now, take a look at the road map below for a general overview of the process.

18

Chapter 6

Arraignment

What a strange name!What is it? It is the first time you get to make a formal answer to the DUI charges filed against you.Why can’t they call it the first court date? Why use fancy Greek terms like arraignment?

In Florida, your Arraignment will be your first “real court date.” Meaning, it will be the first Court date that will move your case towards being resolved. Under Florida law, an arraignment is required, unless waived by your lawyer. The State of Florida, through the Court, is required to put you on adequate notice of what charges the State of Florida plans to bring against you. Your Arraignment is the court date used to fulfill this requirement. In your case the government will most likely announce that you are being charged with DUI.

YOU MAY NOT EVEN HAVE TO SHOW!

If you hire a private law firm to represent you, your lawyer will usually file a written pleading (or a written document) waiving your appearance at your Arraignment. This is nice because you will not have to attend this Court date. There is no need for you to go to this

19

Court date in most cases, unless you are advised specifically to appear on your case. If you retain a lawyer, you will not have to take time off work or school to sit in front of a judge for 4-8 hours! Your appearance or non-appearance at this Court date will neither help nor hinder the progress or resolution on your case. Your lawyer will be notified on what charges that State of Florida plans to pursue against you through notice from the Clerk of the Court in the county where you are charged. Normally, your lawyer will be advised of your charges in advance of your Arraignment Court date. Your lawyer will take the time to advise you of the charges eliminating your need to attend your Arraignment Court date.

SO I DON’T HAVE TO BE THERE IF I HIRE A LAYWER WHAT REALLY HAPPENS?Your arraignment is also used as a time that you enter a plea to your case. A plea can either be: (1) Guilty, (2) Not Guilty, or (3) No Contest. If you hire a lawyer on your case, then your plea at arraignment will be not guilty. This will be entered by a written pleading (or written document) that we file well in advance of your Court date. This plea of not guilty will stand until you choose to change it, your case gets dropped, or you go to trial on your case.

The Lawman says, “Plead not guilty, or better yet, have a lawyer do it for you!”

Chapter 7

20

Pre-Trial Conference/ Docket Sounding/ Case Management

Pre-Trial Conference/ Docket Sounding/ Case Management normally encompass second and sometimes third “real court dates”. The easiest way to describe what will happen at this court date is to refer to it as a scheduling date for the path of your DUI case.

The county in which your charges are pending will determine what this court date is called. Every county uses a different term to refer to this scheduling court date. Some counties call it, “Pre-Trial Conference,” while other counties call your second court date a “Docket Sounding.” Regardless of the name, the purpose is the same to set a scheduling path for your court case.

Traditionally, this court date is for your lawyer to tell the judge that either: (1) Your DUI case is ready to go to trial, (2) You and the State of Florida, through the trial prosecutor assigned to your case, have reached a negotiated resolution on your case and you wish to enter a plea to your case, or (3) You and your lawyer need a continuance on your case in order to more adequately prepare your DUI case for trial or do some additional work to get your case ready to enter a plea. At this scheduling court date most by the book, rigid Judges only like your lawyer to use the works, “Trial”, “Plea”, or “Motion to Continue.” However, some Judges will get more involved in the interworking of each case.

Depending on what type of Judge your case happened to be assigned to will

21

determine how long this court date can last. It could be 2 minutes, or 2 hours, or even longer.

There are other, more off the record, uses for this scheduling court date. The most common is your lawyer using this as a time to talk, face to face, with the trial prosecutor assigned to your case. In the bigger counties, the case load is ever growing and expanding. Because of the high case load, the trial prosecutors are extremely over worked and overburdened. Even in the smaller counties, in light of budget cuts, etc., the trial prosecutors are busy. No matter how many times your lawyer emails, calls, and tries to see the trial prosecutor assigned to your case, the trial prosecutor simply might not have time, or choose to be lazy and not get back to your attorney. In these cases, the scheduling court date can be a good time to talk face to face with the trial prosecutor assigned to your case.

It will always be the goal of your lawyer to talk to the trial prosecutor assigned to your case before this scheduling court date. It is more efficient and will put your mind at ease if things happen this way. However, sometimes plea offers are not extended to your lawyer until this court date. Also, sometimes, even when an offer has been extended, it cannot be tweaked to a point where you will accept it until this court date.

For example, if you want to accept the plea offer, if you can buy out your community service hours, the trial prosecutor might have had time to call or email with the original offer, but might not have a chance to get back with your lawyer about this “tweak” until the scheduling court date. So, it is possible that

22

your lawyer will not have an answer on your requests until he or she is actually in court on this scheduling court date.

In most circumstances, again depending on what county your case is in, your lawyer can waive your appearance at this second, scheduling court date. This court date requires a signed waiver of your appearance, where your appearance at your arraignment court date can be waived without your signature. Because there are important decisions that are going to be made at your arraignment court date, the Judge wants to know that you are okay with your lawyer attending on your behalf and speaking for your interests. If there is not a signed waiver of your appearance at this scheduling court date in the court file prior to the court date, then you must be present or risk the Judge issuing a warrant for your arrest based on your failure to appear. It is the responsibility of your lawyer to make sure that there is a Waiver of your Appearance is in the court file or to make sure that you know to be present at this court date. For most of our clients, this waiver will be signed at your initial consultation with our firm. But if you do not come into our office for the consultation, it will be your responsibility to return this to our office before this second court date or you will have to be present.

In some counties, the Judge will even set a third court date called Case Management. At the Case Management conference, the Judge will accept more plea resolutions, handle some preliminary pretrial issues for cases going to trial, and refine and narrow down the trial calendar for cases actually going to trial. Most judges want the client to appear for that court date so the court knows that the

23

clients who want to go to trial are fully informed about what is going on.

The lawman says, “Make sure you check your paperwork about whether you need to appear. Always ask your lawyer if you need to be in court!”

Chapter 8Trial and Sentencing

Trial

24

A trial is the final piece of your DUI criminal case. This is the time, if your case does not resolve before, in which the State of Florida will be required to prove that you committed DUI beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. The State of Florida will most likely attempt to prove your guilt by bringing in witnesses with knowledge of your case, possibly presenting physical evidence that they think ties you to the crime, and overall arguing to a jury that they should find you guilty of the crimes that they have alleged.

The first part of a trial is jury selection, or technically called, “Voir Dire.” This is where the attorney for the State of Florida and your lawyer get to stand in front of a pool of people and ask questions. These questions are geared to assist in picking the fairest jury for your case.

The Judge will bring in a large group of people to narrow down. Most of the time the Judge will ask this group of people some general questions about the legal process, any affiliation they have with it, any affiliation they might have with the parties in this case, and some other general questions to get a feel for the jury that is sitting in front of them. It is the Judge’s job to determine scheduling and make sure that all of the potential jury members will be attentive and available to last throughout the duration of the trial. Which Judge your case is in front of will

25

determine how many questions the Judge will ask? Some Judges ask a lot of questions and some are more willing to let the lawyers in the case inquire of the potential jury members.

Once the Judge gets done with this introduction and his general questions, the lawyers will get a chance to inquire of the potential jury member. The attorney for the State of Florida will go first and ask all of the questions that they want of the panel. A lot of times the State’s questions are trying to find out biases against the government or law enforcement officers. More than likely your lawyer will have some standard questions that they feel is important to ask in every jury selection that they do. Some of these questions will sort out potential biases and other questions are designed to explain, from a defense prospective, the terms used in the criminal trial process. Examples of these terms are, “Beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt”, “Right to Remain Silent and not testify”, and the phrase, “Innocent until proven guilty.” Specifically, in your case, you and your lawyer should discuss other potential questions that might need to be asked in your DUI case. This conversation should take place before your trial, so that you will feel confident that your lawyer will ask everything that you would like asked during the jury selection portion of the trial.

Once all of the questions have been asked by the Judge and the lawyers in the case, then the Judge will assist in sorting through which jury members will actually sit and listen to the facts of your case. During this process, the larger potential jury panel will be dismissed from the

26

courtroom. You will have a time to discuss your thoughts on the potential jurors with your lawyer. You must remember that this is your jury. Your lawyer should actively involve you in the process of deciding who you want on your jury. Your lawyer should be available for advice on the jury members, but this is ultimately your decision. The type of case you are on trial for will determine how many jurors will be picked for your case. Most misdemeanor and felony cases will have six (6) jurors and one alternate.

Once the Jury is selected, the Judge will call the entire panel of potential jury members back into the courtroom. Once the larger panel is back and seated, the Judge will announce the names of the people that have been selected to serve on your jury. The Judge will also announce the alternate member. In most counties, the Judge will not tell the alternate jury member that he or she is in fact the alternate jury member until the conclusion of the trial. However, divulging this information to the alternate is entirely within the discretion of the Judge. Once all members of the newly selected jury are seated in the jury box, then the Judge will swear in the jury to try your case. The swearing in of the Jury is very important. Once a jury is sworn to hear the facts of your particular case, then you can never again be tried for these facts again. It is said that, “Jeopardy” has attached. Unless the Defense (you) ask for a mistrial in the middle of trial, or your case results in a “hung” jury, then the State of Florida will have only this one chance to prove the case against you. If they ever attempt to bring your to trial for the same facts, you will

27

be in “Double Jeopardy,” and should be entitled to a dismissal of the case as a matter of law.

After the Jury is sworn, then the Judge will proceed with some opening instructions to the jury about listening to and considering all of the evidence in your case. He will also instruct the jury not to talk about the case amongst themselves nor with friends or family members, until the conclusion of the trial. In most cases, the jury members are not sequestered. Sequestering of a jury only happens in the highest profile cases. This means that the jury members will be asked to stay in a hotel overnight, so as to not be contaminated by the news media. Do not expect your jury to be sequestered. If your trial goes overnight, more than likely, your jury will go home in between the trial days.

The next step of the trial is opening statements. Opening statements in a trial are used as “roadmaps.” They are supposed to help the jury understand what each side expects the evidence to show in your DUI case. The State of Florida will generally tell the jury what they believe their witnesses and their physical evidence will show to prove that you are guilty of a DUI. They will use this time to ask the jury to find you guilty at the conclusion of the trial. What your attorney discusses in opening statements will depend upon your case and your attorney’s strategy. Because, as a defense attorney, we are not sure how the State’s case is really going to go, it is usually in our client’s best interest to keep the defense’s opening statements brief and not detailed. The jury is going to expect to see and hear all of the things that the lawyers say that the jury

28

is going to see and hear. Overall, a general, brief, interesting opening statement is usually the best bet for Defense Attorneys. However, this is not a rule. Every case is different. The facts and circumstances of your individual case will determine how your attorney approaches the opening statement.

After the attorneys for both parties lay out a “roadmap” for the jury, then the State will begin presenting their case. The State will be allowed to call witnesses and present evidence that they believe goes towards proving your guilt for DUI. Your attorney will be attentive and engaged in this process. It will be up to your attorney to make sure that, under Florida law and Florida Rules of Evidence, only admissible evidence is presented to the Jury. Once the State of Florida gets done asking questions of one of their witnesses, your lawyer will have a chance to cross examine their witness.

Depending on the witness, and their importance to the case, will depend on how many questions your lawyer asks the witness. Some witnesses are not vital and do not offer much to the State’s case, and therefore, do not need to be cross examined heavily. However, some witnesses are literally the crux of the State’s case, so your lawyer may spend hours asking them questions. The length of direct and cross examinations is usually linked to the complexity of issues that are involved in your case. Another important point to remember about cross examination is that your lawyer knows and is trained in what style to use with each witness. While, as a Defendant, you might want your lawyer to be mean and nasty to the witnesses while cross

29

examining them in your case, your lawyer knows when this is helpful and when it is not. There are sometimes that this will be effective, and there are sometimes when it will hurt your case. Not all cross examinations need to be mean, some do, but not all. So, keep this in mind while mentally preparing yourself for what you will hear at trial.

After the State of Florida presents all of the evidence that they have against you, they will “rest.” After the attorney for the State of Florida is done, then it will be your time (through your lawyer), to present the defense’s case. Sometimes the

defense’s case is just as long, or longer, than the State of Florida’s case. If you have witnesses or physical evidence to present, then you will have previously talked about this with your lawyer. Your lawyer would have been responsible for getting those witnesses and that evidence ready for trial. If you have witnesses that you would like called to testify at your trial, then your lawyer will call them to the stand at this point in the trial. When your lawyer calls your witnesses, then your lawyer will be the first to ask them direct examination questions. After your lawyer gets done asking all of the questions that you and your lawyer think are essential, then the lawyer for the State of Florida will get to cross examine your witness. This will be done in a similar fashion as discussed above.

30

The biggest decision that you will have to make in the defense’s case is whether or not you want to testify in front of the jury. You have the right to testify if you want. However, you do not have to testify as you have the right to “remain silent.” If you choose not to testify, the Judge will instruct the jury that they are not to hold that against you. The Judge will instruct the jury that you have the right to testify or not testify and that choice should not be used in their decision to find you guilty or not guilty. In light of the facts of your case and what you can offer in your defense, you and your lawyer will discuss the pros and cons of you testifying in your trial. Most of the time, you will have made the decision to testify or not testify prior to the day of trial, but not always. Normally, your lawyer will prepare you for testifying in trial, as if you were going to testify. However, you always have the right to change your mind. Depending on how the State of Florida’s case goes and what issues arise in the State’s case, you may make a last minute decision on whether or not to testify at your trial.

Once you have made the decision to testify or not testify and all of the other Defense evidence, if any, has been presented to the jury, the Defense will “rest.”

The final step of substantive value in a trial is closing statements. During closing statements, the State of Florida and your lawyer will get to argue to the jury why, in light of the evidence in your case, they should find you guilty or not guilty of DUI. The State of Florida will get to argue to the jury first, then your lawyer, and then the attorney for the State of Florida will get to finish closing statements off

31

with the last word. The Florida Supreme Court has given the State of Florida what lawyers call the “sandwich” in closing arguments. This means that the State of Florida goes first and last, with your lawyers closing arguments “sandwiched” in between. Depending on the timing of the trial, your lawyer should ask you for things you would like to bring up during closing arguments. But, you need to also remember, that your lawyer knows your case well and he or she has been paying close attention to your trial. Your lawyer will be spending their time arguing in your best interest. During this time, you need to sit back and listen to your lawyer fight for you.

After closing arguments, the Judge will read to the jury a series of, often lengthy, jury instructions. These instructions will be reviewed beforehand by your lawyer and the attorney for the State of Florida to ensure their accuracy. These instructions are used to guide the jury in discussing your case and coming to a conclusion on a verdict. The jury will be explained things such as their need to select a foreperson to preside over their deliberations and that any verdict they reach must be unanimous. Once all of the jury instructions are read aloud, in court, for the jury members, the jurors are asked to retire to the jury room and attempt to render a verdict.

Rendering a verdict could take two minutes, two hours, two days, or could possibly never happen. There is no way of predicting the time line for jury deliberations. Most Judges want the parties in the case to remain close to the court room while jury deliberations are in progress. A lot of times this is a good opportunity to grab a soda, make

32

phone calls, and talk to your family. The Judge should give a jury as long as it needs to come to a decision.

In some circumstances, a jury will return to the Judge and tell them that they are not able to reach a unanimous decision. Usually this comes after hours of deliberations. If this becomes apparent to the Judge, then normally the Judge will give the jury an additional instruction that was written to aide a deadlocked jury. After reading this instruction, the Judge will normally send the jury back into the jury room for further deliberations. Sometimes the jury will then return with a unanimous decision and sometimes they will remain deadlocked. If the jury is unable to reach a verdict, we say that the jury is “hung.” If your case results in a hung jury, your case is still active. At this point, the State of Florida will have to make the decision whether or not to bring you to trial again or, because they have seen that they do not have an absolute winner of a case, that they might resolve your case in an alternative way.

If the jury is able to reach a unanimous decision, then they Judge will bring all of the parties to the case back into the courtroom for the reading of the verdict. Normally, the foreperson will hand the verdict form(s) to the court Deputy who will hand the verdict to the Judge. The Judge will review the verdict form(s) to make sure that the verdict form(s) are in proper order. If they are, then the Judge will hand the verdict form(s) to the trial clerk to be read. It is proper form for the Defendant (you) and your lawyer to stand for the reading of the verdict.

33

If the verdict is not guilty on all counts, your DUI case is finished and resolved forever. If you are out of the State’s custody during your trial, then you will be free to leave the courthouse with your friends and family. However, if you are in custody during your trial, then you may have to be transported back to the jail to be booked out of the jail through their normal procedure. Whether or not this must happen is always at the discretion of the Judge. Some Judges will take the liberty to release you right from the courtroom upon a not guilty verdict. If the verdict comes back guilty on all or some of the counts in which you are charged, then the Judge will have to decide how he wants to handle your sentencing. The Judge is entitled to proceed with sentencing on your case immediately or he/ she can decide to postpone sentencing to a later date. Every case is different and it is hard to predict what the Judge will do in your case.

Sentencing

At your sentencing, whether it happens immediately after trial or weeks later, you are able to present testimony on your behalf to the Judge before the Judge pronounces sentence. You and your lawyer, although a very hard conversation, have a talk before trial about your sentencing. This conversation is necessary so that your lawyer is prepared for your sentencing hearing, in the event that it is needed. Commonly friends and family members come to sentencing hearings to speak good about you to the Judge. Also, it is helpful to make the Judge aware of any job that you are holding, school you

34

are attending, kids that you have, or good works that you are doing in the community. If your sentencing gets set off for a few weeks after your trial, and you are out of custody during that time, your lawyer might suggest that you take some rehabilitative classes (impulse control class, anger management, etc.). This will give you something additional to show the Judge at sentencing. This will help the Judge see that you are taking this very seriously and might encourage the Judge to go easier on your sentence.

If the Judge chooses to immediately proceed to sentencing and not set off the sentencing hearing, and he/she sentences you to a term of incarceration, then most of the time, you will be taken into custody immediately to begin serving your sentence. If there are real, identifiable appellate issues in your case, then your lawyer can ask the Judge to set a supersedes bond in your case. This is a bond that you are released on, after trial, to allow you time to appeal your case before you begin serving your sentence on the case. These types of bonds are very rare, but are available, if there are real appellate issues in your case.

The lawman says, “If you are found not guilty, you walk out like a free person!!”

Chapter 9

Motions

35

Motions? What does that mean? Movement? Not hand waving or gesturing or making faces. Rather legal documents requesting that a Judge throw evidence out or limit evidence in case your case goes to trial. Normally, once these Motions are filed, your lawyer will set them for a hearing in front of your Judge so that all sides can argue the merits of the Motions.

Motion to Suppress Evidence

According to our Bill of Rights, you have a constitutional right to be free from unreasonable and unlawful searches and seizures of your home, person, and property. Sometimes the police make mistakes and violate Constitution protections.

If your lawyer believes that your rights have been violated in anyway, i.e. you were the subject of an unreasonable search or seizure, your lawyer will routinely file a motion to suppress asking the court to throw out, suppress, any evidence that was unlawfully obtained. If the Judge grants a Motion to Suppress in your case, the State of Florida will be precluded from using any evidence that the Court feels was illegally o unlawfully obtained. If this happens, it may leave the State of Florida with very little remaining evidence. The weaker your lawyer can make the case for the Sate or Florida the better. A lot of times, if a Motion to Suppress is granted, the State will be forced to drop the charges against you.

36

Before you get too excited, please realize that judges do not routinely grant these motions and in many cases it comes down to your word versus the cops. Sometimes the court will believe your story and will rule in a Defendant’s favor. However, Judges are very reserved about doing this. For a Judge to grant a Motion to Suppress, the Judge is basically saying that the police officer in your DUI case did something wrong, and as you can imagine, Judges are very careful about making that determination.

Motion to Suppress Confession

You have heard of Miranda? Almost everyone sees that on TV. If you are arrested and the cops want to talk to you and specifically to question you about your crime, they must give you some warnings like:

You have the right to an attorney You have the right to remain silent Anything you say can be used against you

In some cases police officers may forget to read you your Miranda warning. In other cases they may fudge the report and claim they read them when in fact, they never did. If the cop did not administer you your Miranda Warnings or administered them improperly, your lawyer might want to file a motion to suppress your confessions (i.e. your responses to questions you were asked when you were in

37

custody). The rules about issuing Miranda Warnings are somewhat different in a DUI case, than other types of crimes. Your lawyer will assess your case and determine if they feel there might have been a Miranda violation.

You and your lawyer can figure out whether it is in your best interest to file such a motion. Sometimes even if there is a Miranda Violation, you do not want to exclude your statements because sometimes they are helpful. If your lawyer does file this Motion to Suppress and the Motion is granted by the judge, any confession you made will be tossed out and the State will not be able to use them during your prosecution.

However, please note, that Television shows have created a legal misconception in regards to cops reading Miranda Warnings. They are not required in all cases. A cop is only required by the law to read you your Miranda Warnings if you are: (1) in custody and (2) the cop is planning on asking you questions that will incriminate you. If one of both of these things are not true, then the cop does not have to read you your Miranda Warnings. Not all arrests call for Miranda Warnings, in fact, most do not.

Motion in Limine

A Motion in Limine is a Motion asking the Judge to preclude the prosecutor in your case from bringing into

38

evidence (i.e. letting the jury hear) things that might prejudice them against you. Normally, these Motions are based in statutory law (rather than constitutional law), meaning, there is some law out there that your attorney believes precludes the prosecutor from mentioning certain facts. (For example, why is it relevant for the jury to hear that you have 3 prior DUI arrests, when you are fighting this current DUI?) Most of the time your lawyer will file this type of Motion to limit prejudicial information from coming in against you at trial.

However, sometimes your lawyer will file a motion to prevent an unscrupulous prosecutor from raising prejudicial, inflammatory, and emotion invoking arguments to a jury. In other cases, the criminal lawyer can file motions to prevent prosecution from asking you or witnesses irrelevant questions or prevent them from producing unqualified witnesses to testify against you.

Regardless of the reason a Motion in Limine is filed, they are done so to limit the scope of what the prosecutor can say to a jury at our trial. The more confined and restricted your lawyer can keep the prosecutor, the fairer your trial will be.

The lawman says, “A case can be won with good, aggressive Motion practice.

39

You need a lawyer that will go the extra mile and is not scared to file Pre-Trial Motions.

Chapter 10

Discovery

40

So your lawyer tells you, “I got the State’s discovery and it doesn’t look so good.” You are possibly wondering to yourself, “What’s no good? What’s discovery? What was the use to discover?”

Discovery is a process that your lawyer will engage in with the government’s lawyer. Basically, it is where the government has to show your lawyer all of their “cards.” Meaning they have to hand over all of the evidence in your DUI case. The have to show your lawyer both the evidence that they feel proves that you are guilty of the crime that you are charged with, as well as, any evidence that they might have that may tend to show you are not guilty of the crime with which you are charged.

The Discovery process can include conducting depositions of the government’s witnesses, viewing evidence collected in your case, or visiting locations that are important to your case. However, most of the time when you lawyer indicates he received “Discovery,” it means that he/ she received a packet of paperwork from the government pertaining to your case. Most of the time this packet of paperwork has in it police reports, witness statements, pictures, etc. all pertaining to your case. This packet is crucial to building your defense, so it is important that you review this packet with your lawyer. You must read every word on every page of this packet. As they say, “the Devil is in the Details” and inconsistencies in the discovery packet can help you win your DUI case.

The Lawman says, “Discovery is crucial to determine what case, if any, the government

41

has against you. Make sure you go over the discovery with your lawyer with a fine tooth comb.”

Chapter 11The Nolo Contendere Plea

42

The famous plea of nolo contendere, what does that mean? The judge says, “Hey, if you plead no contest or nolo contendere, you don’t have to admit guilt of any of the charges. You just say it’s in your best interest to get it over with.” In the uninitiated (i.e. never been in trouble before), naïve or otherwise mentally challenged the plea of nolo contendere sounds like a good idea.

You’re saying to yourself, “Great! I can plead to this charge without taking the rap. After all, I’m not pleading guilty, nor am I admitting guilt. So it should be a slap on the wrist, or better yet, nothing will be on my record.”

Not so fast buddy!

You can plead no contest, or nolo contendere to murder and guess what? You’ll still go to the big house (prison) for a long, long time. It does not matter if you plead guilty or no contest, you’re still going to pay the price, be punished, and marked for it.

You say, “What is the harm of pleading no contest to a little misdemeanor?” Ha, gotcha! The judge can still adjudicate you, convict you, and maybe put you in jail. After all this the only benefit you really got is that you didn’t admit guilt and perhaps that the no contest can’t later be used against you in a civil case.

Yes, a plea of no contest is more than what meets the eye.

A nolo contendere (no contest) plea means that you believe that resolving your case by pleading to your charges is in your own best interest. It also shows the Court that you believe that you are ready to get your case over. It also shows the court that you are not going to contest the evidence against you any further

43

(i.e. not go any further with pre-trial motions and/ or trial). Basically, you want the case over and you are going to accept whatever punishment that the Court deems fit. Most people that plea no contest do not entirely agree with the State’s evidence/ case, but they also do not want to take the risk of going to trial on the case.

A lot of lawyers do not do a good enough job explaining to their clients that when you plea no contest to charges, the disposition still does go on your record. It is not a way around this case going on your background, but hopefully it will assist you as you explain the charges to anyone that might see them on a background check.

A no contest plea might also help you avoid automatic civil liability. In some cases a person can be charged in criminal court and then also sued in the civil courts for damages (i.e. money). A plea of no contest is not automatically admissible against you to prove liability in a civil suit. However, be warned, this is not a block to civil liability, it is just not an automatic admission.

The lawman says, “Pleading no contest (or nolo contendere) is not always in your best interest. Please know what you are doing.”

Chapter 12

Probation

44

Plead to a charge? Got probation? Get ready, your life is about to have a new boss in it!

Not bossed around enough by your real boss, mother, or spouse? Get ready for some more, because the probation office will be in charge for the next few months or years.

Want to go out of the country? Better call your probation officer.

Want to throw a party for your degenerate friend? Better ask your PO.

Need a date? Don’t worry, once a month you’ll have a date to meet with your PO.

Probation is a type of community supervision. While probation is one of the lowest types of community supervision that can be given as a part of a sentence in a criminal case, it is still a very large pain.

When you get sentenced to probation, you will be told you have to go straight to probation and “check-in.” If you are found guilty of a misdemeanor DUI or plead guilty to this charge, you will be placed on what is called County Probation. This is a probation program that is run by the County in which your case was handled. This first meeting is a very quick meeting where you provide to the appropriate probation office your contact information, case information, and other general information that they can use to enter your into their system. Normally, at this initial meeting you will only interact with the office staff and not your probation officer. The staff will only have limited

45

information for you and will probably not be able to answer very many of your questions. At this initial “check-in” they will normally give you a day to come back to your probation office and have an in-depth meeting with your actual probation officer. This will be the meeting that they will lay down all of the rules and regulations that will be governing you while you are on probation. This would be the time to ask questions and get all of the information you think that you need to be successful on probation.

After the initial “check in” and meeting to get you acquainted with probation, most probation sentences only require you to check in with your probation officer once a month. Normally, the probation officer will set the appointment for the next month before you leave your monthly meeting. This way everyone is on the same page in regards to your reporting time and date. Probation Officers may give some leeway if you miss an appointment, but you must call and reschedule with them either before the meeting, or immediately after. If they hear nothing from you, they will consider it a no-show and can fill out an affidavit of Violation of Probation. Your attendance at these monthly meetings is critical to your success on probation. Also, at these meetings, your probation officer will monitor your progress in completing the requirements of your sentence, the probation officer will collect money and fees that you owe to probation, and might even drug test you.

While on probation many people are sentenced to classes, community service hours, counseling, and drug tests. Depending on what the terms of your sentence are, will dictate what you have to do on probation. Most of the times your

46

probation officer can assist you in getting set up for all of these things. While they cannot actually do the requirements for you, they should be helpful in figuring out how to get all of them done in a timely manner. They will also be the one that administers in random drug testing to you.

If you live out of the area where your case is being prosecuted, probation is still may be an option. If you live out of the area and have a misdemeanor case, you may be allowed to resolve your case by a written plea (meaning your lawyer can draft all of the appropriate documents, get you to sign them, and deliver/ enter them in Court without you having to come back to the area). If this is the case, then the Judge might approve mail in/ call in probation. Which means it would be your responsibility to contact probation after your lawyer goes to court for you and then keep in contact with them through the phone, mail, and email. While this seems easier than a face to face meeting, many clients that report to probation remotely complain of unresponsive and disinterested probation officers. This may lead to increased stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, transferring county/ misdemeanor probation is not an option, so mail in/ call in probation will be your only

47

choice if you find yourself facing probation as a sentence for your case.

Note: If you violate your probation it is a huge deal and you will want to seek a lawyer immediately. If you even think you are about to violate your probation, you will want to seek a lawyer immediately. Normally, when your probation Officer feels that you have done something that violates your probation, they will write up an affidavit of Violation of Probation to the Judge and a request for the Judge to put out a warrant for your arrest. If the Judge feels that, based on the affidavit that your probation officer has filed, that there is probable cause to believe that you violated your probation, the Judge will more than likely issue that warrant for your arrest. If the Judge authorizes the issuance of a warrant for your arrest, the Judge gets to set a bond amount for our warrant. Most of the time on a violation of probation arrest warrant, the Judge will not give you a bond. This means that if you are arrested/ turn yourself in on the outstanding warrant, then you will not be able to bond out of jail. You will remain in custody until your court date or your lawyer files a Motion with the Court and convinces the Judge to give you a bond. This could take a while and could result in your sitting in jail for days, weeks, and in some cases, months.

The lawman says, “Life on probation is not like you used to know it. You have a boss more bossy than yo momma.”

48

Chapter 13

Role of the prosecutor

PROSECUTOR OR PERSECUTOR. HMMM. Depends on which prosecutor you get.

49

The prosecutor, also known as the Assistant State Attorney, is the lawyer who represents the State of Florida in a criminal case. It is the prosecutor’s job to represent the interest of

the people of the State of Florida in making people pay for crimes that they commit in the State, such as a DUI. You cannot pick which prosecutor that you get on your case.

The Office of the State Attorney houses all of the prosecutors in your particular county. The head of the Office is an elected official and all of the Assistant State Attorneys serve under that official and at his pleasure. When your case, or any case, comes into the State Attorney’s Office it is assigned to a particular prosecutor. Most of the time your prosecutor is determined by two things: your judge and what type of case you have. Unfortunately, there is nothing neither you nor your lawyer can do to change your prosecutor.

Your case may not get assigned to a prosecutor for some time. Again, this is out of the control of your lawyer. This might be frustrating to you. During the time that your case is not assigned to a prosecutor, your lawyer will have no direct contact name at the State Attorney’s Office to discuss your case. During this time, usually at the very beginning of your case, your lawyer might not be negotiating your case, but your lawyer is getting a head start on the competition. Your lawyer will use this time to investigate the case, think of possible defenses for your

50

case, and become as familiar as possible with your file. Because your lawyer gets this jump on the prosecution, your lawyer will be much more prepared on your case than the other side.

As your case progresses, the prosecutor assigned to your case will be the person that gathers all of the evidence that the State has against you and presents that to your lawyer. Also, that prosecutor will be the one in Court arguing against any pre-trial motions that your lawyer has filed on your case. Also, and probably most importantly, that prosecutor will be the person that your lawyer negotiates with to try and resolve your case.

Make no mistake the prosecutor is bound to do justice. He or she is ethically and morally supposed to do the right thing, so one would think you should get the same result no matter which prosecutor has been assigned to your case. But as with everything else in this world, there are good ones and bad ones.

Good v. Bad Prosecutor: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE TO ME?

Aggressive or passive, mean or nice. Experienced or Rookie. Liberal or Conservative. Vindictive or Fair. The prosecutor you draw on your case is incredibly important to the outcome of your charges. Draw an experienced prosecutor on a weak case, you might get the charges dropped. Draw a rookie on that same weak case and you might find yourself looking at jail because the prosecutor is scared of getting fired!

51

Just remember that when it comes to your DUI case the Prosecutor is not your friend. They represent the State and the Victim’s interest and not yours. They are out to get you.

General Rules: Do not talk to the prosecution without a lawyer, in fact let your lawyer do the talking. Don’t email the prosecution, don’t call them, and don’t write them letters. Anything you say to them can and will be used against you in a court of law. Remember they are law enforcement.

The lawman says, “A prosecutor is sort of like a cop, but in a suit, armed with a law degree, and a reputation to uphold!”

Chapter 14

Missed Court Date

What happens if you miss your court date, or in other words, screw your bondsman?

52

Prepare for the worst and know that Hell is coming for you. Forget the easy part- the judge is going to issue a warrant for you that will go out nationwide alerting every law enforcement agency that you’re on the run, on the lamb, or a fugitive from justice.

Get pulled over for running a stop sign straight to jail. Car accident straight to jail.

But that is only the beginning, you just pissed off your bondsman who stands to lose $100,000 he posted on your behalf. The bondsman has just hired a bounty hunter to come get you. Ever see the Dog on TV? Hell is coming. Unlike the police who have to respect your constitutional rights the bounty hunter does not, will not, and frankly could give a damn. The cops, hey, if they beat you or bust down your door, you can sue them! The bounty hunter, no way! A license to beat, hunt and impose unholy terror to bring you back to justice. Imagine a three hundred pound, seventh degree black belt pumped up on steroids and, fueled by desire to get that monetary bounty the bondsman put up. Watch out! Your worst nightmare.

If you hire a lawyer you might be able to avoid the wrath of your bondsmen. A lawyer can file a Motion to have a Judge consider withdrawing a bench warrant and reinstating your bond. Most of the time the lawyer can get this Motion filed within a few days of being hired. Once the Motion is filed the Judge will decide if he/ she would like to give your lawyer a hearing on the Motion. Most Judges will at least give you and your lawyer the opportunity to come in front of the Court to plead your case about missing the Court date. If there was a good reason to miss

53

your court date and you have documentation of this, it is advisable to bring that to the Court date. If you missed court for a less desirable reason, then you better get ready to beg for the Court to withdraw the warrant. If the Court chooses not to withdraw the warrant, then the Judge will take you into custody until your case is resolved.

Also, at this hearing, the Court can decide to reinstate your bond. Which means reverse the forfeiture that he/she most likely put into progress when you failed to appear for your Court date. Most lawyers will contact your bondsmen in advance of filing a Motion/ going to Court and get a letter from your bondmen saying that they would be willing to go back on your bond. Meaning they will continue to endorse your bond. This is an important piece of the puzzle, because in order to allow you to stay at liberty, the Judge has to know that the bondsmen will stay on your bond. If not, the Judge might withdraw your warrant, but still take you into custody because he/she is not convinced that your bondsmen wants to continue to endorse your bond.

The lawman says, “Missing a Court date is a one way ticket back to the big house. Remember, it will be much more pleasant to hire a lawyer and go to court him/her than a bondsman hunting your down and dragging you in before the Judge.”

54

Chapter 15

How to Hire a Lawyer

Out of jail, showered off and freshly scrubbed, now you’re thinking, “What am I going to do now?”

55

It would be a good idea to find yourself a lawyer, an attorney, barrister, esquire, solicitor, shark, public defender, ambulance chaser. Whatever you call them, you just know you need help.

A good lawyer can advise you on legal strategies and defenses perhaps negotiate a good deal for you or even “Get you off” of your charges entirely.

So how do you pick one lawyer? How do you know who you can rely upon, trust, and/ or who will guide you through the process?

T.V., mail outs, phonebooks advertising, websites, reviews, internet sites, billboards, radio: Where do you turn for the truth? All of these mediums seem to claim that each lawyer you read about is the most magnificent, grand, excellent trial lawyer.

How can you choose amongst this cacophony of advertising voices?

Don’t sweat it! This chapter will go through some of the various ways to find, interview, and retain a good lawyer who will meet your legal, emotional, and budgetary needs.

The lawman says, “Don’t hire a lawyer unless you interview them!”

56

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A LAWYER FOR YOUR DUI CASE:

1. Size of the Law Office (including lawyers and staff)

While the size of an office is not in direct correlation to the type of legal work that a lawyer will be able to provide, it is a mark by which you can measure a lawyer’s success. A one man shop may not have an assistant, runner, receptionist, file clerk. How do they get all that work done without any support? Technology? Not so! Technology might help, but it cannot replace the human touch.

If you meet with a lawyer and you see that the lawyer has a support staff that can help with the administrative work, you can be assured that the lawyer will have more time to work on the legal aspects of your case. If a lawyer has to do all of the administrative work himself/herself common sense will tell you that they will be doing less actual legal work on your case.

Also, when you choose a criminal law firm that employs multiple criminal defense attorneys you get the benefit of multiple lawyers discussing your case for the price of one firm. Some criminal cases are complicated and multiple lawyers brainstorming on your case can be helpful.

57

The lawman says: The more hands on deck to help you, the more attention your case is going to get.

2. Public Rating Systems and Reviews from Former Clients and Peers

The internet is a great equalizer. You can research each potential lawyer you may want to interview and learn about their law firm before you ever meet with them/ hire them.

Check out AVVO.com or Google Reviews. The sooner that you hire a lawyer the better opportunity you are giving your lawyer to get the best result possible. However, with that being said, before you hire a lawyer

you should take your time and really read your potential lawyers websites and their reviews. You might be

able to gain some insight to what other clients think about the potential lawyer.

Of course there are times a client may leave a bad review, so take what you read with a grain of salt. The majority of the reviews for each lawyer will give you a good idea about the potential lawyer and whether or not you want to meet/ interview/ hire that potential lawyer.

58

Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating: what is that?You may notice that some lawyers post on their website that they are “AV” rated. What does that mean? This is the highest rating a lawyer can achieve for legal ability and ethical standards. These ratings are based on confidential peer

reviews of judges and fellow lawyers.

The lawman says: A lawyer’s online profiles and reviews give you honest feedback from real

clients. Also, Martindale Hubbell ratings will tell you what Judge’s and a lawyers peers think about them. This is important.

3. Research if the Potential Lawyer has any Florida Bar Disciplinary Actions

The Florida Bar Association is the governing body that maintains all of the ethical guidelines for lawyers in the State of Florida. They are also the body that works to discipline lawyers that behave in an unethical way while representing their clients. Arm yourself with knowledge and see if the lawyer has been disciplined. While most lawyers like people are not perfect and make mistakes, look at the discipline history and if you see a lot then be very wary!

59

The lawman says: A Lawyer in trouble with the Florida Bar is trouble for you!

4. Evaluate the Legal Fees

Remember the old saying: “You get what you pay for” when evaluating a potential lawyer’s legal fees.

To a lawyer time is money and if you hire someone for cheap, there is a good possibility that the lawyer may not work very hard on your case. Usually you will find that the cheaper a lawyer’s fees are, the more cases the lawyer has to take on to make ends meet. This comes down to the following formula:

CHEAP LEGAL FEES =MORE CASES MORE CASES =LESS TIME ON YOUR CASE

Of course you must find a lawyer within your budget. For example our law firm usually charges a flat fee for the legal work we do on your case. This fee covers all of the legal work, including any legal research that needs to be done, legal Motion writing, and any and all Court Dates, in your case from the time you meet with your lawyer and sign our Contract for Representation until your case is set for a Trial certain date. In some

60

cases, we charge a separate predetermined trial fee so you know upfront what you will pay a lawyer if your cases goes to trial. If the case seems to be a case that will be easier, or less stressful to resolve, then the price will tend to be lower. And vice versa, if the case seems like it will be a lot of work for the lawyer, then the price will tend to be higher.

The lawman says: You get what you pay for!

5. Evaluate Procedure for Client Communication

RING RING RING!!!

Phone Calls- does you lawyer or his or her assistant call you back within 24 hours? They should if there is no other pending emergency.

Mail/Email- does you lawyer or his or her assistant email

you back within 24 hours? They should if there is no other pending emergency.

61

The lawman says: You are important! A lawyer or his/her staff should respond to you within 24 hours if there is no other pending emergency.

6. Consider Promises Made to you by the Potential Lawyer

Neither at an initial consultation with a lawyer, nor during the pendency of you case should a lawyer ever make you a promise about an outcome in your case. Promises in this context are unethical and unreliable. Lawyers are not mind readers, gypsies or fortune tellers and they cannot predict the future, so no lawyer should be promising you or guaranteeing you a certain outcome in your case.

Lawyers can however, based on their experience, provide you with a number of possible outcomes that could occur in your case. Sometimes a lawyer is able to tell you, “probably” or “more likely than not,” but most lawyers will not go further than this in telling you how your case will resolve. As the case progresses, more and more information will become available and it will become easier for your lawyer to form an opinion about how your case. However, in the beginning, promises as to resolutions should not be made.

Watch out for the following warning signs:

62

We will win your case!We get every case dropped!Your case WILL get dropped!We have never lost a case!We always get not guilty at trial!

The lawman says: if a lawyer makes a guarantee, then run run run. Run like the wind, get the hell out of their office and never go back!

7. Inquire about Case Load Size

Small caseloads go hand in hand with the quality of work that is done on your file. The cheaper the lawyer, the odds are the more cases the lawyer will have. The more cases the lawyer has the less time he or she will have to handle your case. Look at the little formula below:

50 hours (average lawyer work week) /divided by 100 cases= 30 minutes per case spent on average

BUT,

63

50 hours /divided by 25 cases= 2.0 hours per case.

Big difference huh?

There are only so many hours in the day. Don’t let a potential lawyer bamboozle you when it comes to quality of their work. Numbers cannot lie. The more cases a lawyer has, the less time the lawyer has to work on your case. Bottom Line.

Remember to ask a potential: how many files should I expect you to be holding when I go to court with you? The lawyer says one, two maybe three or four. Don’t sweat it. This means they are successful, but 7, 8, 9 or 10? May want to be careful here!

The lawman says: Too many files means too little time for you! You are important and you do not want to hire a lawyer that cannot give you and your case the time and attention it deserves.

8. Ask about the Potential Lawyer’s Experience Level

Maybe one of the most important questions you can ask a lawyer. If you are charged with a criminal case, you don’t need a lawyer who primarily handles family

64

law or bankruptcy. The lawyer can do more than one area of law but ask the following question?

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CASES THAT YOU HANDLE ARE CRIMINAL?

Remember to look the lawyer straight in the eye and see how they respond. If it is less than fifty percent, I would suggest you reconsider hiring them.

The lawman says: Hire a criminal lawyer for your criminal case. You would not hire a brain surgeon if you had a heart attack. Just like in medicine, lawyers have specialties.

9. Evaluate the Potential Lawyer’s Ideas of Potential Defenses

Do your research online before you meet/ interview your potential lawyer about the defenses to your case. It is easy do a search on the internet for defenses to you particular charge, for example, you can search, “potential defenses for a Driving Under the Influence Case”. There are tons of articles that will come up and you can read about them before you have your meeting with a potential lawyer. You need to go to your meeting with a basic knowledge of our case and its defenses.

65

At your meeting/ interview with the potential lawyer ask the lawyer about your potential defenses and see how he/ she responds. Is the potential lawyer able to spot the same defenses you read about or even come up with one you have never heard of? Arm yourself with knowledge. If you hear some of the same buzz words that you read online, then chances are, this lawyer is the real deal. Also, if the potential lawyer offers new/ creative approaches to your case, you can assume the lawyer is thinking about all avenues to get you the best result on the case.

The law man says: A potential lawyer should be able to discuss defenses to your case in your initial consultation. If not, then they might not be the lawyer for you.

10. Request a Plan of Action

At your initial consultation, a potential lawyer should be able to outline what next steps he/ she will take in working towards a resolution in your case. They should be able to clearly identify to you verbally, if not in writing, the next steps on your case. Also, the lawyer might give you some tasks to do to aide your case.

66

Sometimes a lawyer might need you to gather documents, witness name and contact information, or simply write a statement of events. It is important that you leave your initial consultation with a potential lawyer with a clear idea of what the lawyer will be doing in the weeks and months to come as he/ she works to resolve your case.

A clear plan of action will help ease your mind on time frame, as well as, manage your expectations of the lawyer. Managing both parties’ expectations is the best way to keep a happy, cordial and productive relationship between you and your lawyer.

I sincerely hope that this has provided you with useful information. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to Call me at 407-228-3838 or email me at Bill@thelawman.net

The lawman says: Ask for a plan. Just like in anything in life, you need a plan to be successful. You need to know what the lawyer will do for you and what, if anything, you can do to aide your case.

67

Chapter 15

Conclusion

The lawyer you hire is the person that stands between you and the government’s desire to punish you. That lawyer is the last bastion between you and the ultimate consequence for the crime you may have committed. If you do not feel 100 percent comfortable sitting down with that lawyer, do yourself a favor and interview several lawyers. There is always an attorney out there that is right for you. Don’t feel that just because you were referred to them or you read great reviews, that it means that they’re right for you. You need to pick the lawyer that helps put your worries at ease. Never feel you have to settle and always trust your gut instinct when picking a lawyer.

We believe clients should educate themselves on legal issues. I know that self-educated clients become better clients of our law firm because they are informed and confident of decisions they make, and confident of the advice we give them. We hope you found this information helpful.

If you have questions about your charges or would like me to review your case, contact our office to schedule a free

appointment.

Phone: (407)228-3838E-Mail: bill@thelawman.net

68