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What is the advantage you provide for those accused of a drunk driving offense?
DUI Defense Lawyer Holbrook: A great deal of customers involve me and state, "I got charged with a drunk driving offense", and they instantly assume they are guilty. That may not be the case as cops have to comply with a rigorous procedure, and I have actually had a lot of training on that method. So, points like the field soberness examination and the eye test become part of those procedures. It's extraordinary the number of cops who administer those tests badly.
All DUI defense lawyers are criminal defense lawyers, but not all criminal defense lawyers are DUI lawyers. They don't look extensively at the body camera or dashcam video clips for the field soberness tests. Then there's a chain of custody issues that come with blood examination results and a slew of evidence to attack the Intoxilyzer test. A great deal of criminal defense lawyers are not aware of that.
What are the penalties for a DUI first?
DUI Lawyer Holbrook: It's an optimum charge of 6 months in jail. In Utah, it's a class B misdemeanor, and the fines are up to $1,500, with a compulsory two days behind bars. Rather than the 2 days behind bars, most judges allow you do forty-eight hours of community service. With a DUI conviction in Utah, you need to get an interlock tool and pay for it. That is just one of the hidden expenses that build up in a DUI.
When you get cited for drunk driving, you have 10 days to appeal the driver's license suspension. And afterwards you have ten days to notify the Utah Driver's License Division that you want to establish your right to have a hearing. But the cops inform you that you have 5-14 days to alert the local court where the charges are pending. A lot of individuals mix up that 10-day DLD hearing with the 5-14-day criminal charges. So, sometimes I get a DUI case when the ten days have passed. What's even more, I believe the DLD hearing is vital, even though several criminal defense attorneys claim it has no value.
I like to build a record, so the DLD hearing has worth. They record the hearings, so if a police officer claims one thing in a Driver's License Division hearing and flip flops his story later, I can better construct a case. Some cops don't call right into those DLD hearings, so the Utah Driver License Division will certainly not act
In Utah, can you reject the roadside breath examination?
Utah has an implied consent law. When you obtain a driver's license, you consented to give blood, breath, or urine samples if asked for by the authorities. You can decline, yet the penalty is typically an 18-month suspension on your driver's license. If you had actually submitted and were over the legal limit, your vehicle driver's license would be suspended for 120 days.
Besides the breath test, are there points the police are observing?
DUI Lawyer Holbrook: There are 24 clues they search for like abrupt motions, hard braking, and acceleration, or slow to pull over. Another clue is not if you hit an object, but if you almost hit an object, which I think is strange. I've had police officers testify that they've pulled a person over, and they moved to the wrong side of the roadway or bumped the curb. After that they're looking for clues from the minute they come up to your automobile. Once you roll down the window, they smell for alcohol.
Additionally, there are the field sobriety tests. Things like the nine-step walk and turn and the one-leg stand test. They call them attention divided tests. When they request your license, registration and insurance, that's an attention divided examination since they're looking to see exactly how you handle this circumstance. Other points consist of; did you forget to undo your safety belt when you tried to leave the vehicle, or did you use it to get out or prop yourself? There are all sorts of clues for the police officers.
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