I have been arrested for DUI; what are my options?

Being arrested for a DUI is serious enough and a DUI conviction can cost you thousands of dollars, waste dozens and dozens of hours of your life and perhaps days of your life, and cost you even more in higher insurance costs in the following two years. Your auto insurance will increase for sure.

If you plan on driving a car, you should be drinking this and not alcohol. Starbucks is cheaper than Chesapeake, VA DUI lawyers.   

Unfortunately, all too often, law enforcement officers end up arresting and charging innocent persons with DUI either because they use faulty calibrated breathalyzers or they simply happen to be under-trained and prone to errors.

It is important that people who face such charges seek legal counsel without delay and get started on devising a strategic defense against their charges in order to beat their DUI case. Failure to do so will result in a DUI conviction and that can lead to serious consequences such as prison time, hefty fines, installation of ignition interlock devices, mandatory alcohol or drug counseling, probation, community service, and ankle bracelets, to name a few.

And you may still have to pay your car bill since you may not own all of it yet!

If you made a DUI mistake while driving your car you need legal help. You may believe the world is against you but that is not true, press right here DUI-USAttorneys.com. This is not Cuba, this is America, you have the right to sound legal help.  

What transpires at the arraignment?

Stellar Chesapeake, VA DUI lawyers point out that at the arraignment, the suspect will be requested to plead to the charge. What this means is that the defendant either gets to admit guilt by pleading guilty, or challenge the DUI charge by contesting or pleading not guilty.

Depending on what the type of plea entered, the case will progress accordingly. During the arraignment you will also be appointed a public defender if you don’t already have your own legal counsel. The amount of bail will also be set provided that you are eligible for bail.

A plea can always be changed at a later stage to a no contest plea. In some states the defendant also has the right to a jury trial. He or she may request that they be tried by a jury rather than a judge.

Now you may be afraid of a jury trial since you may have seen the movie A Time to Kill. In this movie, the jury was all white and Carl Lee Hailey was a black man in Tennessee. Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) was not too happy and was worried about this trial because there were not that many blacks on the jury. Hailey’s lawyer Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) failed to successfully secure a change of venue. Brigance was able to win this case for Hailey despite the all-white jury.

Now you probably do not have to worry about this since a DUI case does not spark such intense feelings as a case such as what happened in A Time to Kill. But it is something to think about – you may want to avoid a jury trial.

What are your plea options in a DUI case?

According to Virginia DUI attorneys, when charged with a DUI you essentially have the following options:

1. Plead guilty and accept the consequences
2. With the help of your lawyer try to strike a plea deal and plead guilty to a lesser charge such as a wet reckless
3. Request a trial in front of a judge
4. Request that you be tried in front of a jury of your own peers
5. Plead not guilty for this DUI auto case
6. Plead with no contest

Should you contest the charges levied on you?

The answer to this question is not a one size fits all. It really depends on the specifics of your particular case and how drunk were you when driving your car. The best person to advise you would be a DUI lawyer in Chesapeake, VA or any other area where you are located in the state. 

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If your blood alcohol content was marginally over the limit then there may be a reason to fight your DUI but if your BAC was well over then you are much better off settling the case with a plea deal. In such a situation, the chances of you winning at trial are slim. However, don’t hesitate to seek help from a golden and exemplary Virginia DUI lawyer to protect your rights. Depending on the evidence against you, you can decide whether to fight the prosecution or strike a DUI plea deal.