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What is the benefit you offer for those accused of a drunk driving offense?
DUI Defense Lawyer Holbrook: A lot of clients involve me and state, "I got charged with a DUI", and they immediately think they are guilty. That may not be the case as cops need to comply with a strict protocol, and I have actually had a great deal of training on that method. So, points like the field soberness test and the eye examination become part of those treatments. It's amazing the amount of officers who administer those examinations improperly.
All DUI defense lawyers are criminal defense attorneys, yet not all criminal defense attorneys are DUI lawyers. They do not look thoroughly at the body camera or dashcam videos for the field soberness tests. After that there's a chain of custody issues that come with blood test outcomes and a variety of proof to attack the Intoxilyzer test. A lot of criminal defense lawyers are not familiar with that.
What are the penalties for a DUI first?
DUI Lawyer Holbrook: It's a maximum charge of six months in jail. In Utah, it's a class B misdemeanor, and the fines are up to $1,500, with an obligatory 2 days behind bars. Rather than the two days in jail, the majority of judges allow you do forty-eight hours of community service. With a DUI sentence in Utah, you have to obtain an interlock device and pay for it. That's one of the hidden expenses that add up in a DUI.
When you get cited for a DUI, you have ten days to appeal the vehicle driver's license suspension. And then you have ten days to notify the Utah Driver's License Division that you intend to establish your right to have a hearing. However the police tell 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, in some cases I get a DUI case when the 10 days have passed. What's more, I believe the DLD hearing is essential, although many criminal defense lawyers claim it's worthless.
I like to construct a record, so the DLD hearing has value. They record the hearings, so if a cop claims one point in a Driver's License Division hearing and flip flops his story later on, I can further build a case. Some cops do not call into those DLD hearings, so the Utah Driver License Division will not do something about it
In Utah, can you refuse the roadside breath test?
Utah has an implied consent law. When you get a driver's license, you consented to provide blood, breath, or urine samples if requested by the authorities. You can decline, yet the penalty is generally an 18-month suspension on your driver's license. If you had submitted and were over the legal limit, your driver's license would be suspended for 120 days.
Besides the breath examination, are there points the cops are observing?
DUI Lawyer Holbrook: There are 24 clues they seek like sudden movements, hard braking, and acceleration, or slow to pull over. One more clue is not if you struck an object, but if you nearly struck something, which I think is strange. I have actually had cops testify that they have actually pulled somebody over, and they went to the wrong side of the road or bumped the curb. After that they're searching 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 examinations. Points like the nine-step walk and turn and the one-leg stand test. They call them attention divided examinations. When they ask for your license, registration and insurance, that's an attention divided examination since they're seeking to see how you manage this situation. Various other factors consist of; did you forget to undo your safety belt when you tried to get out of the vehicle, or did you use it to get out or prop yourself? There are all sorts of clues for the cops.
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