The vast majority of my clients are involved in their defenses, and cooperate with my office 100% by providing us with all of the information we need about their DUI case in a timely manner. I try to set the ground-rules early on in the attorney-client relationship. If there is something that might affect your DUI case, I need to know about it now.

Don’t hold anything back from your lawyer. What your attorney does not know can only hurt you. The consequences of not telling your DUI lawyer something can be grave. A bad or embarrassing fact, something you said or did in the past, is not a surprise best left for me in the late stages of your case.

I don’t want to find out in the middle of your trial that you “tweeted” somebody from your cell phone (from the bar the night of your arrest) that you were wasted and that it’s fun to drive that way (fictional example). I don’t want the prosecutor to confront you with facebook or myspace entries and photos that prove your guilt while you are on the witness stand. I don’t want to find out that you have prior convictions after we have signed a plea agreement that calls for you to avow that you have none (also a fictional example). In short, if there is something you know about your DUI case that I don’t, and I am your lawyer, then something is very wrong.

Open communication between you and your DUI lawyer is one of the most important aspects of your defense.

DUI consequences have become more punitive in most states with each passing year. This year will be no different in many states.

In Arizona, for example, the DUI consequences for a first offense misdemeanor DUI with an alcohol level of .150 or more will increase to 30 consecutive days in jail.  This means that the consequences for somebody who has never had a criminal conviction will mandate that they spend 30 days in jail.

The most common destination for a person convicted of DUI in Arizona is Sheriff Joe’s Tent City Jail. Because of the conditions at that jail, the DUI consequences in the Phoenix area have never been so high.

Most people don’t think about the DUI consequences before getting behind the wheel, so they are surprised when they research them after being arrested. While the penalties on paper seem extremely high, a good DUI lawyer can make a difference in the sentence by negotiating the case down to a lesser charge, or by litigating the case.

The DUI consequences are now too serious to leave anything to chance.