SHOULD I GET A DUI LAWYER NEAR ME?

SHOULD I GET A DUI LAWYER NEAR ME?

(IN MY LOCAL AREA)

One of the first questions people ask themselves when they get a DUI charge is “Should I get a DUI lawyer near me?” The question of whether to get a local DUI lawyer or a lawyer from another area comes down to comfort level. But in my opinion, getting an attorney from another area to handle a DUI charge is very unwise. There are so many advantages of a local attorney over attorneys coming from somewhere else.

When you are charged with DUI, you are charged by a local police department, or by state police from the local state police barracks.  And, more importantly, you are being prosecuted for a crime in violation of state law. This means that, in theory, a lawyer from anywhere in the state could assist in defending you, as long as he’s licensed to practice law in the state of Pennsylvania. However, while the DUI statute applies across the state, there are many aspects of DUI court that vary greatly around the state in different counties.

Here are a few examples:  There is a noticeable difference in the approach of the Probation Department from county to county when having CRN evaluations done for DUI cases (which are mandatory evaluations), when drug and alcohol assessments are ordered, and when treatment is recommended, what sort of treatment will be accepted by the Court and the probation department.  Moreover,  various police departments and even individual police officers have very different approaches to DUI cases.  One of the first questions I ask people who call me to consult in a DUI case is who the police department is and which police officer filed the charges.  Some police departments have policies in place about which charges to file when someone is charged with a DUI and is already under a suspended license.  As another example, some police departments are fully equipped with dash cameras and body cameras, while other departments still have none.  Therefore, if my client intends to challenge the claims by an officer of what transpired during the stop and I know that that particular police department will have camera footage, then the approach in court as the case proceeds through the various hearings will be different than when a police department is involved that does not yet have cameras. 

The two most important factors that can vary from county to county in DUI cases are the District Attorney and the higher trial court judge.  Most counties have designated prosecutors for DUI cases and judges in the trial court who handle all the DUI cases.  Lehigh County is this way.  So an attorney who spends all their time in that county will be able to predict much more accurately what will be the approach of the prosecutor and the judge in the client’s particular case. Take, as an example, a typical DUI scenario these days—a client is charged with DUI who had marijuana in the car, smelled like marijuana (according to police), and showed other signs of impairment (such as failing field sobriety tests) but then refused to take a blood test.  There is no blood test to determine the presence of THC (marijuana) in the body, and the client believes that he or she showed no signs of impairment and felt “fine.” This type of scenario will follow a certain path in Lehigh County in terms of obtaining and reviewing the police evidence and in terms of negotiating if needed, but the approach would be very different in Northampton County.  A local attorney will know what the police and prosecutor’s approach is going to be to that scenario, but an attorney from another area will not.  In fact, an attorney from out of the area will not know the police officer, the District Attorney, the judge in the lower court, the judge in the trial court, the probation department officers, nor what is expected to occur at the preliminary hearing, formal arraignment, or what can be challenged through pre-trial motions.  

Ultimately, hiring an attorney for a DUI case who is not a local attorney will hurt you in more ways than you will ever know or see.   And thus, there is really only one answer to “Should I get a DUI lawyer near me?”   In all cases, the answer is yes.