Every year, there are about 1.5 million Americans arrested for DUI or DWI. These people are often forced to pay thousands of dollars—and in some cases, even tens of thousands of dollars—in legal fees and fines.

If you were arrested for DUI or DWI recently, you’re probably crunching the numbers already and trying to figure out how much it’s going to cost you. A single DUI or DWI arrest can put a person into a tough financial spot for several years.

You’re also likely wondering whether or not you really need to hire a drunk driving lawyer to help with your case. Hiring a lawyer to represent you in court is one of the most expensive parts about a DUI or DWI arrest, which is why some people choose not to do it.

You’re free to represent yourself in court if you want. But there are many instances in which hiring a drunk driving lawyer would be a much better option.

Here are a few of the times when you will want to have a DUI lawyer on your side.

You Plan to Fight Your DUI or DWI Arrest

Are you planning on pleading not guilty to the DUI or DWI charges filed against you and fighting them to the very end?

If so, you’re 100% going to need to hire a drunk driving lawyer before you attempt to do it. Unless you have a strong legal background yourself, it’s going to be almost impossible for you to win a DUI or DWI case while representing yourself in court.

Instead, you’ll need to bring a DUI lawyer on board to find the best possible defense for you. They’ll listen to your side of the story and then use a series of legal strategies to try and get you off the hook in court.

Some DUI attorneys will argue that their clients were pulled over illegally prior to their DUI or DWI arrests. Others will suggest that the police officers who arrested their clients didn’t take the proper steps when measuring their blood alcohol content levels.

If you try to use these same arguments in court on your own, they’re not going to hold much water. But if you have a drunk driving lawyer on your legal team arguing on your behalf, there is a much better chance of the arguments holding up in court.

Find out more about some of the specific strategies that DUI attorneys will often use in court. If you think one of them might work well for you, you should speak with a lawyer right away to see if they agree.

You Don’t Like the Plea Deal Offered by a Prosecutor

At the very beginning of your DUI or DWI case, the prosecutor in the case will often extend a plea deal to you. It’s a standard plea deal that allows you to plead guilty to DUI or DWI and accept a series of fines and penalties in exchange for being allowed to skip the legal proceedings associated with a DUI or DWI case.

Some of the people who have been charged with DUI or DWI are more than happy to accept a plea deal. The fines and penalties that come along with it tend to fall on the lower end of the spectrum as far as severity is concerned.

But many people don’t love what they see when they’re offered a plea deal by a prosecutor. They think that they could do much better by taking their DUI or DWI case to court and fighting it.

Before they do, though, these people need to talk with a drunk driving lawyer about the possibility of taking a plea deal. DUI lawyers have extensive experience when it comes to plea deals and they can help you figure out whether or not a plea deal is worth considering.

You Can’t Afford to Lose Your License for a Long Time

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 85% of the people who commute to work these days do so by car. These people rely on their vehicles to get them to and from work every day so that they can make a living.

If you’re one of the 128 million Americans who drive to work each day, a DUI or DWI arrest can knock your life off track. More often than not, those who get arrested for DUI or DWI have their licenses suspended for an extended period of time following their arrests.

If you can’t afford to be without your car for very long, a drunk driving lawyer can help you find ways to limit the amount of time that you lose your license for. They can enroll you in an alcohol treatment program and help you obtain SR-22 auto insurance to show how serious you’re taking your DUI or DWI arrest.

Doing these things won’t always help you in court. But they could very well help you to get your driving privileges reinstated sooner rather than later.

You’re Facing More Than a DUI or DWI Charge

Are you being charged with more than DUI or DWI following your arrest?

Maybe you caused property damage to occur when you were involved in an accident while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Or maybe you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs while you had a child in the car with you.

Whatever the case, these additional charges will often lead to harsher penalties and fines at the conclusion of your DUI or DWI court case. You could even face jail time in some instances depending on what happened right before you were arrested.

This will make your case more complicated than the average DUI or DWI case. It’ll leave you almost no choice but to hire a drunk driving lawyer.

You’ve Been Arrested for DUI or DWI in the Past

Most people learn a very valuable lesson the first time they’re arrested for DUI or DWI. After going through the whole experience, they’re a lot more careful about not getting behind the wheel of their car after having even just one drink.

But there are, however, some people who don’t learn their lesson the first time. They continue to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and eventually, it catches up to them. They’re arrested again and head right back to court to stand in front of a judge for a second time.

The law doesn’t take too kindly to repeat DUI and DWI offenders. These people are often subjected to more severe fines and penalties than they were the first time around. There is usually some jail time involved in their punishment as well.

If you’re ever arrested for DUI or DWI for a second time, it’s imperative that you hire a drunk driving lawyer as quickly as you can. If you go to court without an attorney, the judge might throw the book at you and there won’t be anything you can do about it without a lawyer’s help.

You’re Overwhelmed by the DUI or DWI Court Process

Getting arrested for DUI or DWI can be a very scary, confusing, and overwhelming experience for most people. They have a million and one things swirling around in their minds following their arrest.

They wonder:

• “Am I going to lose my license?”
• “Am I going to go to jail?”
• “Am I going to lose my job?”
• “Am I going to go bankrupt?”
• “Am I going to be able to recover?”

It helps to have a drunk driving lawyer who can answer these questions for you. You’ll feel better about your situation when you have someone there to explain what’s happening.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t have to deal with the consequences of your actions if you’re found guilty in court. A judge could very well still try to make an example out of you by hitting you with a series of fines and penalties.

But you’ll put yourself in a much better position overall by turning to a DUI lawyer for help. They’ll make sure you’re not overwhelmed at any time and see to it that you know what to expect when you answer to DUI or DWI charges in court. 

Consider Hiring a Drunk Driving Lawyer Before Appearing in Court

There are some people who choose not to hire a drunk driving lawyer before appearing in court to answer to DUI or DWI charges. They don’t see the sense in paying a lawyer to represent them.

If you choose to take this approach, it could come back to bite you in the end. You might get hit with fines and penalties that you wouldn’t get hit with if you had help from a lawyer. You might also find yourself in one of the most stressful situations of your life and not have anyone standing by your side and helping you out.

Hire a DUI lawyer to avoid finding yourself in this situation. It’ll be well worth the extra expense at the conclusion of your court case.

Read our blog to learn more about why it’s a good idea to hire a DUI or DWI lawyer.