What questions should I ask a DUI attorney? Part 1 of 2
By Dan Noll on April 14th, 2015 in
What questions should I ask a DUI attorney? We are located in Springfield, Illinois. We handle cases all over the Central Illinois area, but if you’re ever consulting with an attorney in Illinois regarding a DUI, there are couple things you should ask them.
First, have you represented clients before on DUIs. If this is your first case, you probably don’t want to be their guinea pig. Secondly, have you been certified in the administration of the field sobriety test? I personally have been certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is who also certifies the police officers, in the administration of the field sobriety tests.
Why is that important? Because you want to be able to know that your attorney understands how the officers are trained. How they’re taught to administer the field sobriety tests. How the clues as to what the officer sees, which is an indicator of someone who is under the influence of alcohol. How they are taught to recognize those to make sure that what the officer says in his police report or on the witness stand is actually true. You don’t want an attorney there who doesn’t understand what these officers are saying. You want to make sure that they understand the field sobriety tests.
By far and away the biggest series of events in a DUI arrest is the administration of the field sobriety tests. Sometimes a skilled DUI attorney can recognize that the field sobriety tests were not administered properly, and thus should be thrown out of court. It could result in an acquittal or a not guilty, or the prosecutor may dismiss your case. There are a number of things that a skilled DUI can look at, including the administration of the breath test. You want to make sure that any attorney that you hire has a qualified background in the administration of the field sobriety tests.