Thursday, September 3, 2009

Teenagers and Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

Teenage DUI is a major problem facing this country. Studies show that more and more teenagers are indulging in this potentially fatal behavior. In a survey, almost half of all teenage students admitted to driving after drinking, or drinking while driving a vehicle. There is immense peer pressure on teenagers to drink and use drugs. Ten percent of teenagers are drinking illegally at least once every month.

Driving a vehicle in a safe manner requires that the driver be alert to his surroundings. The driver should also be in a position to make decisions quickly. Consumption of alcohol and drugs lead to poor hand eye coordination, slows down response time, hampers proper judgment and distorts the vision. All these factors contribute to mishaps and fatalities. There has been an alarming increase in teenage DUI.

The most shocking statistic that depicts the enormity of this problem is that almost 30% of all teenage deaths in automobile crashes were due to Driving Under the Influence (DUI/DWI). More than half of these teenagers who died in car crashes had even forgotten to strap their seat belts after drinking. Teenage drinking form a major threat to the society as teenage DUI deaths form more than 40% of all alcohol related deaths in the US.

Teenage DUI is not only responsible for causing thousands of deaths, but it also has staggering effects on our economy, by causing damages of more than $40 billion each year. The majority of teenagers get involved in a DUI during evenings, nights, or weekends. A lot of teenagers are not properly trained as drivers and this increases the likelihood of an accident.

There are severe legal consequences of teenage DUI that can substantially damage the future life of a youngster. They are likely to face jail time, license suspension, fines, and court ordered alcohol treatment. If a teenager gets a DUI, the parents must immediately seek legal help by contacting a qualified DUI attorney in your area.

Parents can also take preventive steps by implementing some of the following:

1) Education about the serious consequences of Drinking and Driving.
2) Discussion between parents and their children.
3) Prevent teenage access to drugs and alcohol.
4) Limit access to vehicles if parents suspect drinking behavior among teenagers.

Source: Ezine Articles
Florida Criminal Attorney

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Monday, July 13, 2009

5 Steps to Choose the Best Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged for a criminal activity, it is going to be a very traumatic and scary experience for you, especially if this is the first time you are experiencing such things. That is the reason why you are strongly recommended to avail the services of an experienced criminal defense lawyer. In order to ensure that you don’t end up going into jail for months or years, you will need the best attorney to defend your case. Follow these five steps to ensure you get the best legal help.

It Is The Time To Act
The first step is to stop worrying and keep thinking aimlessly about the situation you are caught into. The sooner you start taking actions, the better you will be able to handle your case. The best way is to be proactive. Start gathering information. Short list a few lawyers and schedule consultations with them. It will help you get different perspectives regarding your case.

Interview The Attorney Thoroughly
When you meet a criminal defense lawyer, you must interview him/her thoroughly. The objective is to know about their experiences, their fee, and everything that you may want to know about them pertaining to your case. Make sure that you have left no rock unturned. Don’t hesitate because this is going to decide the fate of your life.

Experience
In particular, you should be very careful about their experiences. For example, they must be specifically experienced in handling your kind of cases. In fact, the best criminal defense lawyer for your case is the one who has extensive experience in defending individuals. Try to find an attorney who has been practicing law for a very long time and has already established a good recognition for himself/herself in the legal world. Their relationships with the prosecutors and judges in the court will be a plus point for you.

Go With Your Intuition
If you are having a tough time choosing the best criminal defense lawyer, you are strongly recommended to go with your intuition - this is often the best way to decide what is right for you.

Are They Communicating Well With You?
The way they are communicating with you is the next important point of consideration. Are you communicating with the actual lawyer or case manager? Make sure it is actual criminal defense lawyer. The right legal professional for you is the one who is sincerely taking interest in listening to you and answering your questions. If they are listening to you with a sense of compassion and empathy, they will definitely ask you about your expectations and concerns.

Before you sign up the documents and make the payment, you must also ask what you should realistically expect your case. Pay the fee only if you feel like they are answering honestly. At any point, if you feel like the criminal defense lawyer is trying for hard sell, you should thank them and move on without any further delay.

Source: Ezine Articles
Florida Criminal Attorney

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

What You Should Expect From Your Criminal Defense Lawyer

You have a right to expect several things from any lawyer you hire with the understanding that, like many things in life, you often get what you pay for.  To further complicate the matter, however, we are familiar with lawyers who charge absurdly large fees and provide no better representation than a lawyer you might hire out of a phone book. 

At minimum you have a right to expect the following from the lawyer you hire:

1.  Your lawyer should thoroughly familiarize himself with your case before offering you advice on whether to accept a plea bargain or fight the case at a trial.  This process should include both a legal and factual review of your case.  The legal review should include, among other things, a review of the charges against you to determine if there are legal challenges that can be brought against the statute you are charged with violating, a review of the indictment against you to determine if there are deficiencies in how you were charged, and a determination of how the prosecution obtained its evidence to determine if it is subject to a motion to suppress.  The factual review should include, among other things, a review of all the discovery in your case provided by the prosecution, a review of all documents that you provide and the lawyer having his investigator interview both favorable and unfavorable witnesses.  BEWARE OF ANY LAWYER WHO PUSHES YOU TO ENTER A PLEA BEFORE THIS REVIEW IS COMPLETE.

2.  Once the review is complete, you should expect OBJECTIVE advice from your lawyer as to the strengths and weaknesses of your case as well as possible plea options.  Clients sometimes get discouraged at this stage and do not believe that their lawyer is “fighting for them.”  As we tell clients, you are paying a lawyer to be your advocate in front of a judge, jury or prosecutor, but, when it is the two of you talking, you are paying the lawyer to give you objective advice to help you make a decision as to how to handle your case.  It would be very damaging to your case for a lawyer to sugar coat things at this stage and not tell you the weaknesses in your case.  Clients are often too close to their case to evaluate it objectively.  As we explained in an earlier post, we normally advise against fee agreements that pay a lawyer extra if you elect to have a trial because this creates an incentive for a lawyer not to be objective about the risks of going to trial.

3.  If you elect to plead guilty, you should expect your lawyer to try to negotiate the most favorable plea possible with the prosecutor while keeping in mind that a defense lawyer cannot force a prosecutor to offer a particular plea bargain.  Similar to any negotiation, this sometimes means the lawyer might pretend that the case will proceed to trial in order to get the prosecutor to “blink first.” If a plea agreement is reached, you should expect a lawyer to thoroughly explain the plea bargain to you so that you understand it COMPLETELY as well as the various consequences of pleading guilty.

4.  If you elect to go to trial, you have a right to expect your lawyer to strongly advocate your case to a jury.  Before the lawyer can do this, however, they must understand all the evidence that the prosecution will use and have all of your evidence and witnesses prepared.  Many times we see defense lawyers waive making an opening statement in a trial because they don’t fully understand the prosecution’s evidence and they hope to learn about the evidence for the first time when the prosecution puts the evidence on at trial.  As you can imagine, this often proves disastrous.  You should expect your lawyer to spend time preparing your witnesses to testify and, if you are going to testify, you have a right to expect the lawyer to spend significant time practicing your testimony and explaining how the prosecutor will likely cross examine you.

5.  At any sentencing hearing, if there is no agreement as to what sentence will be imposed, you should expect your lawyer to advocate for the lowest possible sentences.   Like at trial, this will require the lawyer to understand the evidence and witnesses the prosecution might use to increase your sentence and will also require the lawyer to be prepared to present evidence and witnesses on your behalf to help lower your potential sentence.  After sentencing, you should expect that lawyer will explain to you any options you have regarding an appeal.

6.  Above all else, you have a right to expect your lawyer to be available to answer questions.  One lawyer writes on his website “don’t expect him to be able to return all of your phone calls within half a day. A good lawyer will always be very busy and you should allow him 48 hours to return your calls.”  We strongly disagree.  Except in rare circumstances, you should expect your lawyer to call you back the same day even if this means calling you at night after he finishes in court for the day.  This is the reason that we post the mobile phone numbers of all our attorneys on our website so that you can easily reach us and, if we are unavailable, leave a message that can be returned promptly and not two days later.

Always remember, your lawyer works for you and, more than likely, you are paying the lawyer a significant amount of money.  No question is too foolish when your liberty is at stake.  The time to ask the questions is before entering a plea because, once you have done so, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to go back.  Conversely, you should make sure that, if you elect to go to trial, you understand any plea options you are giving up, because, if you are convicted at trial, it will be too late to go back and accept the plea agreement.  The key is to ask questions because you have a right to expect honest and objective answers from any lawyer you hire.

Source: Article Base
Florida Criminal Attorney

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Monday, June 15, 2009

Cheap Florida DUI Attorneys

Getting arrested for violating Florida driving under the influence (DUI) Law could be a cause for anxiety. Penalties and consequences for conviction could include fines, suspension or confiscation of license, vehicle immobilization, community service, increase of your insurance fees, and even imprisonment. Your penalty will depend on the severity of your case - the penalties are generally lighter for first offender and much heavier for repeat offenders. Florida DUI Law is rather complex and has a unique nature. Thus, self-representation could be difficult and could cause you even more serious consequences. It is therefore advisable to seek legal help upon arrest.

Costs of hiring a DUI lawyer

Seeking the legal advice of a Florida DUI Attorney who has experience and specializes in drunk driving defense cases can get very costly. Expect to pay exorbitant fees during and by the end of the trial. In some cases, lawyers’ fees can be as much as triple the amount of your fine.

Looking for cheap lawyers

To make sure you get the best deal, you need to scout fir the lawyers who charge low litigation rates. Take your time canvassing from pool of possible candidates.

Create a list of possible Florida DUI lawyers that you want to consider and compare rates. Different lawyers charge differently. Some charge by the hour and others will ask for an initial fee for services and additional fees for preceding trials.

If you are facing a minor offense as a first offender, it is a good idea to hire a lawyer who will charge an initial fee to look into your case, study the file from the District Attorney’s Office, and appear for your first hearing without charging you anything at that point. These lawyers will negotiate in this initial trial or pretrial and close the case so you will not have to go to actual trial. Once this is done, there will be no more fees incurred, just the one time initial deal.

Remember to always sign an agreement with your lawyer regarding fees. Lawyers’ fees start from $500 up to a couple of thousands so you might want to short list DUI lawyers within the range of $500 to $800. Websites with a database of lawyers categorized by location and specialty are available on the Internet. Compare and contrast their rates before you sign up with anybody.

Source: Ezine Articles
Criminal Defense Lawyers

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Monday, May 18, 2009

A Criminal Defense Attorney Can Make Or Break Your Case

In the legal world, an accusation of sexual assault or molestation is one that is handled with scrutiny and is not taken lightly. A child or adult witness, a psychological examination, a sexual assessment, and exposure to a grueling cross-examination are just a few of the things one can look forward to when accused of sexual crimes. With jail sentences having become extremely lengthy and laws being more rigid in the last few years, it is even more important than ever before to have an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side.

If you’ve been accused of sexual assault or molestation, you can expect a difficult journey ahead of you. This is not to say that you will come out of it, and will be stronger for having done so, but it will be one of the hardest situations you have ever found yourself in. If you are guilty of the crime, it is best to be straightforward and truthful with your attorney right away. Be careful not to admit your guilt to anyone else but your defense attorney. They can guide you, and the court system, in the right direction to assist you with the fairest outcome. If you are innocent of the crime you’ve been accused of, be prepared for a trial where your accuser will most likely take the stand. Your experienced criminal defense attorney will know exactly how to steer the conversation to your advantage while preserving your dignity.

As far as the medical community, you can expect doctors, psychologists, and other health care professionals to be a part of the trial process. The accuser will have been examined by a hospital of private practice physician and their lawyer(s) will be presenting the information from that exam in court. If your accuser has visited a psychologist, then that information gathered will also be offered at trial as well. As part of your defense, your criminal defense attorney may set up several mental and/or medical exams for your benefit. These may include sexual assessments to disprove your status as a sexual predator as well as a psychological evaluation by an expert in the area of interviewing persons accused of sexual crimes. These exams can offer proof of your innocence and help sway the jury towards finding you not guilty.

Some specific areas of expertise you will want to look for in an attorney who can properly defend you include experience (for years) with these types of sensitive cases, knowledge of new laws that apply and how to properly navigate them in court, and how to present a good argument against an accuser. First, choose a lawyer who has already handled many hundreds of cases of this type. You can verify this information from their state bar association’s office. Next, they should have a clear and thorough knowledge of the current laws as well as past cases like yours and what their results were in trial. This helps your attorney to present both current and verifiably defendable information to the jury and judge to help you in your case. Finally, you’ll be best helped by a lawyer who knows that child accusers can be unreliable because they can be persuaded into admitting things, as well as accuse people of crimes, that never occurred.

Source: Ezine Articles
Florida Criminal Attorneys

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