Whether you were stopped at a roadside checkpoint or you got a DUI over the holidays, there are many questions you may have after police arrest you with a DUI charge. You may not be very savvy about legal issues, or you consider a dui defense attorney a terrible expense or you are just uncertain about the costs of hiring an attorney. The biggest question after you have decided not to contact a lawyer is: How can I defend myself in DUI Court?

There is an answer to this single tough question, but you should be warned: Unless you have a clear case of error on the part of the police officer, you may have trouble winning your case without an attorney beside you. Having a professional and experienced legal advocate on your side could make all the difference with your DUI defense. A DUI attorney committed to giving you the strongest legal defense is the best avenue. Since you’re reading this page, you should also understand that while you, the drunk driver, do have legal rights, you should brush up on the dangers of drinking and driving before you step into a courtroom. The knowledge may help you with a judge.

What You can Do

To defend yourself against a DUI charge, you need to look at the facts and formulate a defense. There are one or two avenues you can take to defend yourself without an attorney, for example, challenging the traffic stop or questioning the suspicion, the officer had that you were driving drunk, but the rest of the defenses are daunting to take on with out an attorney.

What a DUI Attorney can Do

A good DUI attorney, on the other hand, has many ways of defending a DUI charge. They have the experience, expertise and means to challenge field sobriety tests and Breathalyzer tests that are pertinent to your own state dui laws as well as the federal dui laws. They can successfully challenge blood test results in court. An attorney can question the constitutionality of the DUI check. They can effectively argue the Miranda rule. They can raise the issue of your voluntary submission to DUI testing. They can raise the specter of racial profiling and cite technical matters like weird readings Breathalyzer tests produce.

Talk to an attorney first before you decide to defend yourself. Every legal argument is a negotiation. Once you have hired an attorney, your chances of negotiating your way out of a DUI goes up exponentially. An attorney may feel confident they can win a DUI defense case, and they may want to represent you.

What Plea Bargaining can Accomplish

The one area of the DUI defense that you cannot succeed with on your own is in the area of plea-bargaining. A good DUI attorney may not feel like your case is strong, but it may be enough to pressure a plea-bargain agreement. Let’s face it: A DUI arrest is tough. It’s expensive and a conviction can be even more difficult. With a reduced charge, you can avoid much of the trouble, but a plea bargain is only possible with a good DUI attorney.

Even the most expensive DUI attorney is likely to give you a free consultation, so what do you have to lose? The fee is not always as expensive as you fear. Some people believe going to court without an attorney is suicidal, that the odds of winning your own case in today’s complicated legal system are a statistical impossibility. Though that is not true, you are rolling the dice with your future. There is no way to know how a judge or prosecutor will respond to your self-defense tactic. You should find the best legal defense you can afford because a DUI is nothing to sneeze at.