What You Should Know About A DUI Charge

Whenever you find yourself stopped by the police, the best thing you can do is know your rights. Particularly in cases where you’re accused of driving under the influence, it’s important to know what this means for your criminal record and, ultimately, how it translates to your future. In addition to that, there are steps you can take along the way to work towards the best possible outcome for yourself. Otherwise, one misunderstanding or a specific set of circumstances could affect the rest of your life. 

How Can A DUI Charge Affect Your Life? 

Unfortunately, a DUI charge can have lasting effects, as with anything that is added to your criminal record. In Pennsylvania, you may lose your driver’s license, which can make it challenging to care for kids or parents and even hold down a job. On that note, in fact, you may even lose your job if you have unreliable transportation or they are concerned about having an employee with a criminal record. In essence, unless you are properly prepared to advocate for yourself or hire a DUI attorney, you may end up in a tough situation. 

What Should You Know? 

Within the legal system, there are standard procedures in place when someone is charged with a DUI. From the defendant’s perspective, let’s take a look at what this includes. 

First, you’ll be stopped by an officer due to DUI suspicion or other means of reasonable suspicion. Either way, they will approach your vehicle and ask for your license and registration.

If they believe you may be intoxicated, they may ask you to do field sobriety tests as well as a breathalyzer if you are impaired. If there is enough cause to arrest, they will transport you to determine your blood alcohol content (BAC). Most likely, you can expect to wait a few hours for processing at the police station. At this time, your mugshot and fingerprints will be collected and entered into the database. Shortly thereafter, a police officer or detective will interview you for further questioning, but you do have the right to stay silent during questioning. More importantly, though, this is when it’s best for you to contact a trusted DUI attorney. 

Helpful Tips to Keep in Mind

To get the best possible outcome, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind. 

1. During your interactions with law enforcement, remember to be cooperative rather than argumentative. This will not only help you appear less threatening to the officer at the moment, but it can help you later on when in court. 
2. Contact a DUI lawyer for representation as early as possible. Otherwise, know that you can have one appointed to you by the court, should your case make it to that point. 
3. Throughout any court proceedings, stay calm, collected, and count on your attorney to guide you through. 

For the best criminal defense attorney representing residents of Bucks County, turn to The Law Offices of Stolee and Associates. Marc Stolee, J.D. has been defending clients with great success for nearly 20 years now. For more information, contact us today!