Why You Need A Lawyer with a Check List for DUI Help

You never know what evidence will be discovered by your lawyer. The lawyer doesn't know. However, the lawyer knows or should know what to look for in the investigations of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) case. Obviously, the more experienced the lawyer the more he or she should know. Good lawyers keep a check list just like a pilot does. Experienced pilots know what to do, but they use the check list because forgetting something and remembering up in the sky could prove to be a big problem that may not have a solution. And this is true for lawyers collecting evidence in a criminal DUI case. Ask the lawyers you are interviewing how they remember all of the things they have to look for in your case. If they say, well I have been doing this for so long that I know because it is my business to know, or something like that, but they never tell you that they have a check list, then you should interview another lawyer. You may come back to this lawyer because you feel more comfortable with him or her, but make sure the other lawyers you talk to are not more competent. And, never ask the lawyer if he or she uses a check list. In other words, don't give them the answer.
Recently, because of a check list I had exhausted all avenues for a defense for a client with a 3rd time DUI and probation violation. His breath machine results were accurate as were his records for the preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) test in the street (which you should never take if your State does not require it, and California does not). He was looking at 1 year for the probation and 1 year in the County jail for the 3rd DUI within 10 years; although they usually run that concurrent and not full term, he was looking at about 8 months to 1 year because he also had a high alcohol reading, very high. But there was another problem with his case.
This client had been arrested and charged with this crime in 2007. When they arrested him, they put his notice to appear in his bag with his belongings, allegedly, because he never got it. They never had him sign it. In the signature area it read "In Custody", and it did not have a date to appear. Having been arrested before he knew he was going to need a lawyer, so the poor client found a lawyer in the Yellow Pages, and paid him in cash. He told him he did not know the date to appear because they did not give him a citation, and the lawyer said I will find out when it is and appear for you. You just wait to hear from me; the lawyer never called, and the client thought that case had been taken care of. About 4 years later, the client was in a 711 store when a fight broke out. He was not in it, but the police questioned everyone, and arrested him on warrant that he didn't even know he had. The other lawyer never took care of the old DUI, and the Court issued a Bench Warrant in 2008 which my client never received notice of. The District Attorney nor the Police never attempted to enforce the Warrant by going to the Client's house and arrest him. Based of the lack of notice, and running through all of his options on the check list, we finally filed a motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial with a statute of limitations of one (1) year, unless the client caused the problem which we were able to prove he had not. The motion was granted, and probation violation and new DUI charge dismissed. Check lists are important for the client and the lawyer representing the client.
Good luck in your case. Donald Drewry