I am often astonished at some of the lies told by some of Michigan’s DUI lawyers. Usually, these lies are told by low-fee lawyers who aren’t being paid to work hard on your case. Here are some examples:
I’m not getting the videotape because you were drunk, you’ll look bad, and it won’t help your case.
This one is particularly interesting because the client was represented by a Michigan lawyer who claims on his web site to do the same thing the “more expensive” lawyers do at a much lower “reasonable” fee. He promises that this will include obtaining and reviewing the video tape.
So, what was really going on here? The attorney was being lazy or didn’t want to pay the cost of the videotape, and was trying to justify his laziness to the client! Yes, this lawyer truly did earn his lower fee!
If you truly look bad on the videotape then you will want to know this, but what if the police report exaggerates your “drunkenness?”
At the Barone Defense Firm we have found that in the majority of our cases our clients look far better on the video than might be expected from a plain review of the police report. This is because police reports are often exaggerated or even embellished. If a video exists there really can be NO reason NOT to obtain and review it.
You want to plead guilty BEFORE the blood test results come back.
It never ceases to amaze me how many lawyers will plead their clients guilty before they even know the blood test results. I see them do this in court while waiting for my client’s case to be heard.
Many lawyers see the blood test case as undefendable. This is based on a lack of knowledge of how blood testing works. This lack of knowledge creates fear in the lawyer. If you’re charged with drunk driving in Michigan you’re scared enough. The last thing you want is a lawyer who is afraid!
You can’t win an implied consent hearing, so there’s no reason to show up.
Again, a complete lie, or a complete lack of knowledge or understanding of the system. We win many implied consent hearings, and even if we don’t win we obtain valuable information about our client’s cases at the hearing, information we can use later to possibly win their case. Plus, if the cop is more than 20 minutes late, you win by default.
If you asked for but did not obtain an independent test, your case will be dismissed.
True, but only if your case happened prior to July 2006. That’s when the case of People vs. Anstey was decided by the Michigan Supreme Court. This “advice” wasn’t exactly a lie, it was just a lack of knowledge of Michigan DUI law.
The list could go on and on, but the point here is when it comes to “purchasing” legal services the old adage applies – buyer beware.
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baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on .
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.
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