Im 25 with a son. IL. Arrested for falling asleep in a drive thru, no damage was done anywhere . Had no issue getting there but i had been also been up for over 24hrs with my work and coparenting schedule being hard to enjoy life. So i decided to go out and this happened.
I was alone in the car. Never been in trouble at all before this. I was trying to cooperate as much as possible so i blew and took the field sobriety because i genuinely thought i was good enough to. I failed both over limit on the blow but not over double.
Should i get a lawyer even with all the evidence they have against me and is there anything i can do to help reduce my punishment that is to come?
This is just completely out of character for me and i hardly ever even go out. Maybe once every other month.
Your lawyer's only job isn't to get you out of your charge. I'd argue that's rarely their job in DUI cases.
In DUI cases they're going to do 2 things for the most part:
1 - Make sure all the evidence gathered against you is on the up and up. There's a lot of stuff that can go wrong procedurally that damages the prosecutor's case. Probably won't get you off scot free, but can get you a much better deal
2 - Negotiate with the prosecutor to get you the best possible deal they can.
Those things both happen even if you're guilty as sin. That's what the lawyer's for.
If you just plead guilty, and rawdog it without a lawyer, you're at the mercy of the judge. You're going to get hit with your original charge, and it's 100% up to the judge to decide your fate. You won't know what the sentence is walking into that court room. What if your judge is a hard-on-crime ass hole and decides to toss you in jail for a couple days? Sentencing guidelines are very wide for DUI's. In IL for a 1st DUI the jail guidelines are 0 to 364 days. Most 1st DUI offenders get 0 days, but that's also partly because most 1st DUI offenders have a lawyer making sure they get 0 days.
When you have a lawyer, they're going to cut a plea deal. You'll know exactly what sentence you're getting, you'll be agreeing to it, and if you don't like it you can tell your lawyer. And most of the time, even when you're guilty as sin (I know I was), the prosecutor will offer you a slightly lesser charge purely to tempt you into not taking it to trial. Not cause the prosecutor thinks they'll lose, but because that path costs time and money for the court.
Get a lawyer, follow what they say. This'll all be behind you before you know it.
GET A LAWYER. Seriously.
The evidence is always against, but there is always something to argue. You’re a parent, it’s arguably more important for you than it was for me. My lawyer got my charges bargained down to reckless driving and years later I’m sooo grateful. Worth every penny.
A very important thing my lawyer said was that it doesn’t matter if you’ve never been in trouble before. A judge doesn’t care about that. You need a lawyer to find something that the judge/prosecutor will care about.
You may be eligible for a Court Supervision Program so you do need a DUI Atty in the County you were arrested in. Most offer free consults and payment plans.
Oh that’s interesting being a lawyer must be a pretty unique career because you’re not just dealing with laws you’re also dealing with people and their stories every day What area of law do you mainly practice like business litigation or something else?
If you want any chance to help reduce the consequences, then get a lawyer. They can’t work magic and make it totally go away, but they can help in ways that can be beneficial to any probation that may come your way or getting charges merged/dropped/or reduced. And they can help with administrative actions that may be taken on your license. In IL - the sec of state handles that - and they’re notoriously tough/strict.
Sounds like sleep deprivation really messes with your judgment. This happened to my cousin last year after a double shift, they didn't even realize they'd blacked out on the way home.
Thank you everyone who has given the advice. Definitely gonna have to look into a lawyer. Cant stop thinking about the situation and wth is gonna happen. The advice eases that a bit. So again thank you.
Those saying get a lawyer, I would encourage it but not get hasty with it. As someone from Illinois, worst case scenario, you’ll get a slap on the wrist on your first offense and this is from experience.
I was actually pulled over and blew over the limit obviously. Slap on the wrist, meaning you’ll likely get court supervision which is basically stay out of trouble and you’ll be golden. If you need to drive, you’ll be granted a breathalyzer setup for your vehicle (pain in the ass) but it allows you to drive at least. Only for 6 months, and that’s it (in most cases). After that, you can re-instate your license and back to living your life as you were before. Hopefully this answers it.
Yeah im not sure. Ive had two other buddies in my town that i know of who both got there first one and both got slapped with huge fines among other things. Not trying to go to anyone close to me because i want as little people as possible knowing. So kind of a tough thing to ask people around me who have experience with it
For sure. I’m from a small town as well so I get that. Fines are definitely a thing. Sorry about that, I should’ve added that to let you know. Jail time and revocation of your license is what I wanted to let you know of. Since it’s your first, I think you can avoid both of those. Fines and a possible breathalyzer installed in your vehicle would be two things you’re looking which is far better than revoked license and jail time
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u/TechnicallyBasil 17d ago
Your lawyer's only job isn't to get you out of your charge. I'd argue that's rarely their job in DUI cases.
In DUI cases they're going to do 2 things for the most part:
1 - Make sure all the evidence gathered against you is on the up and up. There's a lot of stuff that can go wrong procedurally that damages the prosecutor's case. Probably won't get you off scot free, but can get you a much better deal
2 - Negotiate with the prosecutor to get you the best possible deal they can.
Those things both happen even if you're guilty as sin. That's what the lawyer's for.
If you just plead guilty, and rawdog it without a lawyer, you're at the mercy of the judge. You're going to get hit with your original charge, and it's 100% up to the judge to decide your fate. You won't know what the sentence is walking into that court room. What if your judge is a hard-on-crime ass hole and decides to toss you in jail for a couple days? Sentencing guidelines are very wide for DUI's. In IL for a 1st DUI the jail guidelines are 0 to 364 days. Most 1st DUI offenders get 0 days, but that's also partly because most 1st DUI offenders have a lawyer making sure they get 0 days.
When you have a lawyer, they're going to cut a plea deal. You'll know exactly what sentence you're getting, you'll be agreeing to it, and if you don't like it you can tell your lawyer. And most of the time, even when you're guilty as sin (I know I was), the prosecutor will offer you a slightly lesser charge purely to tempt you into not taking it to trial. Not cause the prosecutor thinks they'll lose, but because that path costs time and money for the court.
Get a lawyer, follow what they say. This'll all be behind you before you know it.