The first thing you should do after being arrested for DUI is to write down everything you can remember about your case. Sometimes the smallest or most insignificant detail can make a difference in the outcome of your case. At the Barone Defense Firm we will provide you with a questionnaire to help you in this process.
You should also begin collecting receipts and contacting possible witnesses. Anything that can be used to prove that you had less to drink than the breath or blood test would otherwise suggest.
It is also very helpful to take photographs of the scene of the arrest, and if applicable, of your automobile. If you were hurt in an accident, by the police, or during any blood draw, photographs of the injuries you sustained will also be helpful.
In the meanwhile, you should also begin your search for a top DUI defense specialist. To find the top DUI defense lawyer in your area, you should contact your family, friends, or other professionals that you know. Ask your CPA, and if you are divorced, and thought your lawyer did a good job, call him or her up and ask for a referral. You can even contact the court and ask the court clerks or bailiffs who they might recommend.
Now that you’ve compiled a list of possible lawyers to represent you, go to the internet and begin your further research. Compare what you find on the internet to what you’ve been told by others. Soon top candidates will begin to emerge. You can learn a great deal about a lawyer’s background and expertise, but looking at their qualifications.
Don’t limit yourself to just a review of the lawyer’s own web sites. There are many places to obtain additional lawyer information on the internet, and today there are several independent rating services for lawyers. These include sites like Avvo, Superlawyers and Martindale Hubble. Your final step should be interviewing the lawyer candidates. Speak with them in person or on the phone. Then decide.
If you follow this checklist then you are placing yourself in the best possible position for obtaining the best possible result for your drunk driving case.
Get a FREE confidential CASE EVALUATION on your Michigan OWI/OWVI/DUI by calling (248) 306-9159, or filling out this consultation request form. Call now, there’s no obligation!
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baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on Michigan Drunk Driving Law Firm.
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.
