Salt Lake City DUI Lawyer & Attorney : Glen Neeley : Serving Davis County, Ogden, Brigham City, Logan

DUI's Cost a lot.  Even if you are not guilty and found not guilty, they cost a lot.  The prosecutors and police officer's know this.  I had a prosecutor tell me that they would rather try the case and lose, than to dismiss a case against a man whose breath alcohol level was .06, which is below the legal limit to drive.  Another prosecutor told me after he lost a DUI case, "well, at least he had to pay you."  What a vindictive outlook.  The costs are great.  However, I truly believe that the costs can be minimized by hiring a lawyer.  A lawyer may cost a lot in the short run, but can save a lot in the long run.  That is if you have an attorney that is willing to put up the fight.  Here's an article about costs that I stumbled on recently.

Drunk driving could cost $20,000
By Craig Guillot •

Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to pay for a drink at a holiday party, but if that last cocktail puts you over the legal limit, that "one for the road" could easily cost you that or more.

And that's only considering the potential financial cost of being ticketed for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, better known as DUI or DWI, never mind the staggering financial blow if you cause an accident -- or the emotional devastation if your actions cause injuries or worse.

With the holidays upon us, early December through the new year is one of the worst times for drinking and driving. In fact, December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, or NHTSA, 17,602 people were killed in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes alone in 2006 and alcohol-related crashes cost about $51 billion every year. In 2005, a whopping 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence.

One drink too many puts you at risk for not only an arrest, but also for fees, fines and costs that can run you thousands of dollars. While a DUI or DWI may be a misdemeanor charge in a number of jurisdictions, it's a matter that most judges and district attorneys take very seriously. The financial toll of a conviction will play out for years to come, and in many states that can add up to $20,000 before everything is over. This includes bail, fines, legal fees, increased auto insurance premiums, loss of work income, court-ordered alcohol education programs and more.

Of course, if you get fired from your job as a result of the arrest, that dollar figure would skyrocket.
Potential expenses from a DUI -- first offense

You don't even have to get convicted to start running up expenses on a DUI charge. But if you're found guilty, a first offense could mean that last drink cost you dearly. While the amounts vary by location and specific circumstances, here are some of the expenses you may realize:
• Fines. • Court costs.
• Attorney fees. • Bail.
• Loss of job. • DUI "school."
• Temporary loss of income. • Car towing, impounding.
• Alternate transportation costs. • Car ignition interlock device.
• Periodic blood testing. • Monthly monitoring fees.
• Cost of incarceration. • Increased auto insurance premiums.

The financial impact of a DUI arrest on any one person can vary greatly depending on many factors, such as driving record, jurisdiction, blood-alcohol level, attorney fees and fines, not to mention the specific circumstances of the incident and whether there was an accident or if anyone was injured.

The Texas Department of Transportation says a June 2006 survey in that state showed the total costs of a DWI arrest and conviction -- for a first time offender with no accident involved -- would range from $9,000 to $24,000.

And while expenses can vary substantially by jurisdiction, in no city is a DUI charge cheap.

In 2000, when graduate student Kate S. was driving home from a party in Woodstock, Ga., she was involved in an accident. She was not found to be at fault for the mishap, but blood tests at the hospital later revealed she was over the legal alcohol limit and she was booked on a DUI charge. Some costs Kate had to pay included a $2,500 fine, approximately $3,000 in legal fees and insurance premiums that rose an additional $600 per year for the next five years.

"As part of my sentence, I had to go to what they call 'DUI school,' and one of the things we had to do was tally up how much

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Fox 13 reported on December 31, 2007, about the DUI Blitz and checkpoints that were going to happen around the state for New Years Eve parties.  The UHP was on the "hunt" as they have called it in the past.  Many different agencies provided free shuttle service to and from bars.  I like looking for solutions like this rather than jumping on the witch hunt.  Here is a report on a service provided by some agencies.  It is my hope that everyone had a safe holiday.

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A DUI specialist from Lubbock Texas, Stephen Hamilton, wrote this interesting article about Field Sobriety Tricks.  He ended up with a case where the officer admits that that these tests are tricks.  The officer tells the citizen accused that these tests "are just part of the part of the field sobriety tricks."  Mr. Hamilton even shows you the small video clip.  It's worth checking out.

There are many posts that that talk about these tests.  They are designed to make the accused fail.  If you do not understand each and every instruction and do each part of the exercises perfectly, you could find yourself defending yourself from a DUI charge.

I see people all the time that fail these tests for reasons other than alcohol.  Maybe they have a physical problem that prevents them from being perfect on the tests.  Maybe they are just tired.  Maybe they lack the coordination.  Whatever the reason, innocent people fail these tests all the time.  Maybe in reality, the officer sees what he wants to see.  I had a UHP trooper admit to me that the UHP gives awards for the trooper who makes the most DUI arrests in one year.  Great motivation.

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This past weekend, 18 Utah Highway Patrol Troopers made 18 arrests people for DUI.  100 cars were pulled over according to the article in the Deseret Morning News.  Here we go again, officers look for any reason they can to pull a citizen over to check them for alcohol.  The motive is wrong even though the outcome is legal.  119 vehicles were stopped.  Trooper Cameron Roden justifies the "harassment" patrol by saying that they are trying to interdict where they can. 

DUI crackdown nets 18 arrests
Published: Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007 12:08 a.m. MST
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A drunken-driving sweep conducted over the weekend by the Utah Highway Patrol resulted in more than 100 cars being stopped and 18 people going to jail on suspicion of DUI.

The UHP said it had 18 troopers on duty as part of a drunken-driving crackdown, resulting in 119 vehicles being stopped. Of those, 18 were arrested for driving under the influence.

"We're trying to interdict where we can," UHP Trooper Cameron Roden said Monday.

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The question that was presented to me the other day was, "Why should I hire a Utah DUI Attorney, rather than an attorney that does all sorts of cases?"  I responded, with a question, "If you needed brain surgery, would you go to a general practitioner?"  Defending DUI has become a specialty that takes years of training and experience to properly defend a person properly.  To be a Utah DUI Attorney does not necessarily mean the attorney's practice is exclusively devoted to defending DUIs.  However, it should be pretty close.  A Utah DUI Attorney can be identified because he has certificates on his wall showing you that he has been to national seminars.  The Utah DUI Attorney will have a bookshelf in his office chalk full of how to defend DUIs in Utah.  The Utah DUI Attorney will not talk to you about plea bargain as your first option when you walk through the door.  The Utah DUI Attorney will not be cheap because he will do more work on the DUI case than the general practitioner. 

In shopping for a DUI lawyer, many people shop for the cheapest Utah DUI Attorney they can find.  The problem is that those people almost always regret it.  The biggest complaint I hear from people about their Utah DUI attorney is not that they lost my case.  The biggest complaint is that "my attorney didn't do anything.  He was the cheapest I could afford, but he would not take my case to trial." 

On a side note, when looking for a Utah DUI Attorney, make sure you ask the question to the attorney you are interviewing, "are you going to handle my case, or is there someone else that will handle the case like and associate."

Here are some key points in looking for a Utah DUI Attorney:

• How many times does the attorney go to trial?
• What type of seminars has the attorney attended in the last two years?
• Has the attorney been certified in conducting Field Sobriety Tests?
• Has the attorney completed any special training on the breath test instruments?
• What does the attorney's study and what books are on his shelf in his office?
• What does the attorney charge?
• What do other attorney's say about the attorney?
• What percentage of his practice is focused on DUIs?

Again, don't let a general practitioner do brain surgery.  If you need help with a personal injury, look for an attorney that specializes in personal injury.  If you need help with a divorce, look for an attorney that focuses on family law.  If you need help with a DUI, look for a Utah DUI Attorney.  It just makes good sense.

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