Knoxville DUI Law Blog
What Should I Do If I’m Pulled Over Or Arrested For DUI
September 12th, 2010 | admin
If you’ve been arrested and charged with drunk driving or driving under the influence, you’re facing criminal charges that have long lasting and serious effects on your life. Call an experienced DUI attorney or DUI lawyer right away.
Once you have hired a experienced DUI lawyer they will need to work quickly to prepare your case for your first preliminary hearing or trial; to obtain a copy of the police report and videotape, to review the evidence and develop legal and factual defenses. They should subpoena the police officer and cross-examine him or her as part of our effort to explore every avenue to find all the possible weaknesses in the state’s case against you.
There may also need to be medical records, accident reports, cell phone records, or prescription medication records that need to be obtained. The sooner the facts are evaluated by a DUI lawyer or DUI attorney, the better your chances of a favorable outcome.
If I am pulled over and I am asked by an officer, “Have you been drinking?” What should I say?
One approach is to answer, “I would like to speak to my attorney.” No matter what DUI attorney you hire, this is often the best answer.
If you say, “No” and the officer smells alcohol on your breath you have proven yourself to be a liar and your lie will be used against you.
If you say, “Yes” you have given the officer one more clue and have already started making damaging admissions. Don’t worry if the officer threatens to put you in jail. The officer has often already made the decision to arrest you and take you to jail anyway..
How do I avoid being arrested for DUI?
Some people feel the wisest decision is not to give a breath or blood sample. The officer will most likely tell you that you will be arrested if you don’t take the breathalyzer or blood test, and that your license will be suspended.
What they don’t tell you is that if you blow or have a blood alcohol level of .08 (the legal limit) or greater, you will be arrested and your license will be suspended anyway.
Do I automatically lose my license when I get arrested for DUI?
No. If you have been arrested for DUI act quickly and contact a qualified DUI lawyer as soon as possible!
If my license is suspended for a DUI, can I get a license to drive to work?
In almost every case, yes. Depending on your criminal and driving record, we can almost always get you a Restricted Driver’s License that will allow you to drive to and from work. It will also allow you to drive between locations, if your job requires you to travel as part of your duties.
What are the major areas of concern in a DUI case?
1. Whether the stop was constitutional,
2. Whether the administration of roadside tests was constitutional,
3. Whether there was Probable Cause for the arrest,
4. How Miranda warnings will play a role in the case with statements and other evidence,
5. How the Field Sobriety Tests or other roadside tests were administered,
6. The administration, chain of custody and preservation of any Breath or Blood Samples given,
7. The constitutionality of the search and seizure under the Tennessee and United States Constitution.
You will soon have your day in court. It may seem that everything is stacked against you, but the state prosecutor has to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a very high standard and a experienced DUI attorney is going to fight to protect your rights, using every legal and investigative technique at their disposal.
Tennessee’s adaptation of the DUI Ignition Interlock Law carries forward
September 12th, 2010 | admin
Presently there is a persistent growing crisis involving individuals driving under the influence of alcohol. In accordance to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol related driving led to 12,998 fatalities over the previous 12 months across the country. Presently there are several ways of penalizing intoxicated motorists, such as fines, loss of driving privleges, and additionally jail time; but several states are currently exploring current technologies in order to prevent future problems of Driving under the influence. Quite a few states are actually turning to a device known as the ignition interlock device.
The IID has been around for several years, however the device is starting to grow in recognition. Exactly what is a ignition interlock device? Essentially the IID is a brand new device created to prevent intoxicated individuals from driving by simply requiring the automobile operator to supply a breath sample before starting the automobile. The actual apparatus can also require additional rolling samples following starting and when driving the automobile to make sure alcohol is not being used.
If a person is convicted of Driving under the influence they will be required to have this apparatus put in in their automobile, these people must have it put in by a state authorized manufacturer/installer. Presently there are several different suppliers and models, all of which achieve the actual exact same basic goal. The offender will be responsible to cover the expense of the installation cost which usually ranges from $100 $200, coupled along with a monthly rental costs that can range from $100.00 $150.00.
Tennessee’s adaptation of the DUI Ignition Interlock Law carries forward. Presently there are two versions of the Law being suggested. House Bill 2768 by Representative Shipley is much less limited than House Bill 2917 that is currently being spurred by MADD.House Bill 2917 would likely call for an ignition interlock system of anyone that is found guilty of drunk driving in Tennessee with no exceptions.
Representative Shipley’s legislation sets several guidelines prior to an ignition interlock is required.
1.The accused must have a blood or breath alcohol content of .15 % or higher.
2.Is accompanied by a individual under 18
3.Violates the implied consent law.
Laura Dial,executive director of MADD Tennessee weighed in on this particular matter in an article in The Tennessean.One thing that everybody can concur with Ms. Dial is drunk driving is not a good thing even me.Presently , there are 12 states that have passed an ignition interlock bill.Ms. Dial offers a lot of data supporting her position.She says the laws aren’t punishing all individuals but only individuals that are found guilty of drunk driving.Ms Dial also states the American Beverage Institute for opposing these DUI laws that have increased in severity over the years.Are we going to outlaw a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at the Titan’s game.
The problem with the DUI ignition Interlock bill is twofold.
1.It punishes an individual from asserting their own constitutional right not to give evidence against oneself.
2.DUI breath and blood testing evidence is flawed and does not even comply with the basic scientific methods that are taught in middle school science clases.
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Will a DUI conviction affect my car insurance rates
September 12th, 2010 | admin
When you’ve been convicted of DUI, drunk driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it will most likely increase your automobile insurance rates through the ceiling.
In accordance to the Insurance Information Institute (III), there is an alcohol-related traffic fatality in the United States every 45 minutes. In addition to the risk of harming yourself and others, a drunk driving conviction bears with it a serious penalty from your automobile insurance company.
Car insurance companies may look at your motor vehicle report only once every few years or when you are applying for a new insurance policy. It’s likely that accidents, tickets and DUIs might never make their way to your public motor vehicle report. Nevertheless, if your insurance company finds out your DUI and classifies you as a “high-risk driver,” shopping about at renewal time is the ideal tactic, as rates will fluctuate significantly among auto insurance companies. On the other hand, a rate hike may be the the very least of your troubles; your coverage could be terminated or nonrenewed, particularly if you are presently in a preferred rate class. Then you’ll be made to start looking for new automobile insurance policy with the dual whammy of a DUI and a cancellation on your record.
Laws and regulations relating to DUIs and automobile insurance coverage differ by state. The majority of states require DUI offenders to get a form called an SR-22 from their auto insurers, therefore you can’t hide. This form demonstrates to the DMV that you carry liability insurance coverage and eliminates your license suspension. An SR-22 also requires your insurance company to alert your state’s department of motor vehicles (DMV) if it cancels your auto insurance policy for any reason. You will likely have to file evidence of insurance coverage for three to five years with your state’s DMV.
Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania don’t require SR-22s, but if you have an SR-22 and then move to one of these states, you must continue to meet the requirements of the SR-22 state where the offense was committed.
New York and North Carolina don’t require SR-22 filings at all.
In some states there is a fee for SR-22s.
Some automobile insurance companies don’t even offer SR-22 policies, so your policy could be nonrenewed or terminated because your company can no longer offer what you need.
Insurance companies can overlook DUI convictions
It is possible that your insurance company will never find out about your DUI conviction if your state does not require you to seek an SR-22. According to the Insurance Research Council, as many as one in five convictions for traffic violations never end up on motor vehicle records due to lack of shared information between courts and motor vehicle departments, or because a conviction has been erased through alternative means, such as driving school. If you get your DUI charge reduced in a plea bargain, or have a limited license suspension, such as 30 days, it’s also very unlikely your insurer will find out about your conviction.
If your insurance company misses the conviction at the time it happens, it may still have a few years to increase your rates if the DUI is discovered later.
Knoxville DUI Defese Attorney Marcos M. Garza The Garza Law Firm, PLLC Tennessee DUI Lawyer
Why Should I Hire A Knoxville TN DUI Lawyer?
September 12th, 2010 | admin
The actual repercussions, fees and penalties a individual confronts when it comes to a Tennessee Driving under the influence criminal offense are actually becoming tougher each and every year. Even when an individual is facing a misdemeanor Drunk driving charge, do not assume for a second that simply because it is a misdemeanor charge that you could legally represent yourself in court without using the services of an skilled Tennessee DUI attorney that will legally represent you as well as have the charges against you dismissed or even reduced.
It is essential to recognize that if a individual is found guilty of a Driving under the influence is a criminal offense in the state of Tennessee, that a DUI conviction will stay on that individuals criminal record for life. Exactly what this means is that an individual may not entitled to have the actual DUI conviction expunged from their criminal record. Tennessee law only permits a Driving under the influence conviction to be expunged from a individual’s criminal record in the event that the charges against that individual were dismissed, a person were found not guilty or obtained a deferred disposition.
The actual effects of getting a Tennessee Driving under the influence conviction on your criminal record can certainly result in long term issues such as when applying for employment where the potential employer performs a Tennessee background check on candidates before employing or offering the individual employment. The actual number of companies that conduct a background check on a prospective employee prior to employing that person is actually on the increase and will certainly continue to climb.
Furthermore in the event that an job application questions if you have previously been found guilty of a criminal offense, you must reveal the Driving under the influence conviction on the application simply because this is a indication that the potential employer is going to perform a Tennessee background check on any prospective employees before employing.
Is it important that I employ the services of a skilled DUI attorney to legally represent me in court?
You definitely should hire a skilled DUI attorney to legally represent you in court if you expect to have any possibility of beating your Tennessee Driving under the influence charge, however you have to hire a skilled and experienced DUI defense lawyer. The oversight that most individuals make in this particular circumstance is to pick up the telephone book and locate an ad for a attorney whom states they represent individuals charged for Driving under the influence offenses and hire the attorney dependent upon a big full page advertisement or the fact that the attorney claims that they represent individuals confronting a Tennessee Drunk driving charge.
The unfortunate truth is that a lot of folks dealing with a Drunk driving charge in Tennessee will probably base their final decision to hire a attorney dependent upon the previously mentioned examples as well as fail to correctly research the attorney prior to hiring the lawyer to represent them in court, not necessarily knowing that the attorney may possibly have never tried a Driving under the influence case or is actually merely planning on walking the client through the system and pleading guilty to the charge and not counseling the client of the possible life changing affects of pleading guilty to a DUI charge in Tennessee and that a DUI conviction will stay on his or her criminal record for life.
Don’t make the error in judgement of waiting until after your arraignment hearing to retain the services of a Tennessee DUI lawyer. Procrastinating to hire a attorney can easily mean that important evidence that is essential to your Tennessee Driving under the influence defense case can be lost. It is also extremely important that your DUI attorney always be present at the arraignment hearing to make sure that that he or she is going to be available for your appointed court date.
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