Seattle Criminal Attorney | You Ought to Know One

This may well look a little bit self-serving, seeing as I myself am a Seattle criminal attorney, but hear me out ahead of you write me off. As a criminal lawyer I have a rare outlook on this matter, and the point of view is pretty harsh. I see time and time again people come into my office, and these are ordinary people like you and me, who, because they didn't have someone to converse to prior to or during their drunk driving occurrence, have dug themselves into a hole that will take a lot of energy to get out of. So, if you are a regular person, prior to you write this commentary off, take a look at it, and then make your own decisions.

Knowing a Seattle criminal attorney and being able to talk to them from time to time to get information from them is helpful. Although none of us ever expect to be implicated in any criminal activity, it can happen upon us from time to time.

For example, in Seattle every year is this enormous hydroplane contest called Seafair. Every year these hydroplane racers come to town to competition their boats and everyone takes out their own boats to view and celebrate. And partying often includes beer. The cops know this, and they are out on the water en mass to give out as many BUI citations as doable.

Now, this usually isn't a big deal, unless the cops are on your yacht checking you out. In that position don't you wish you had a Seattle BWI attorney to help you cross the waters, to know what you have to inform the police and what you don't, and what tests you have to carry out and those you don't? Hell yes you do.

And finding a criminal attorneys in Seattle to chat to isn't that hard. All you have to do is ask around and somebody will at one time or another have dealt with one. And once you acquire someone that was happy with their help, just call that guy or girl up and tell them you have some questions for them.

Guarantee them you will give out five of their cards to your associates if you will answer some inquiries for you and you pledge to use them for your services if you ever get in trouble. Then fire away. And when you are finished, put that attorney's card in your wallet and get it out if you ever get in trouble. Trust me when I say there is zero driving under the influence lawyers like more than informing their clients to inform the cops they aren't speaking a word and watching the cops squirm.

To sum it all up, you want to be familiar with a good Seattle driving under the influence defense attorney for one reason - it could aid save your butt one day when you are in conflict. So don't wait to pick up the phone. come across someone now you can depend on, get them in your rolodex, and go on with life knowing if you ever get in a sticky position you'll have someone to call.

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Seattle Criminal Attorney | Arraignment

Your luck finally ran out. On our way home from wherever, doing whatever, whenever, you got pulled over for a minor traffic violation, investigated for Seattle DUI, and charged with Seattle DUI. But you did everything right, not telling the cops whether or not you had been drinking, refusing field sobriety tests, and talking to a Seattle criminal attorney before deciding whether or not to take the breathalyzer test. But even though you did everything right, you still got charged with Seattle DUI, and now you have a summons to appear in court at something called an arraignment. So what is that?

Arraignment is the first part of the court process, and is, for the most part, purely a procedural exercise to make sure you know your Constitutional rights and have the ability to exercise them if you choose to. At arraignment you are usually told you have the right to a Seattle criminal attorney, you have the right to a jury trial, you have the right to plead guilty or not guilty, and you have the right to make the state prove the charges against you. Additionally, at arraignment, the prosecutor is required to formally tell you what the charges are, you get to enter a plea on those charges, you get to enter a plea, and your next court date is set.

The formal charges part of an arraignment is a pretty straightforward process. At arraignment the prosecutor will usually give you a copy of the charges that have been filed against you. If you choose to hear it, the court will formally read the charges against you as laid out on the charging document. If you have a DUI defense attorney in Seattle you will often, if not always, waive the formal reading of the charges, since it is a procedural requirement only.

The plea is also a pretty straightforward process. If you don't have a Seattle DUI lawyer hired yet or assigned to you, the judge will suggest you plead not guilty until you can get someone to talk to. If you have hired a DUI attorney in Seattle before the arraignment, they will always plead not guilty. Word to the wise, if you are at arraignment without a lawyer, always plead not guilty. There will be time to work out a deal or try to get a dismissal later. This is not that time.

After all of the procedural stuff is done, the judge will discuss conditions of release (assuming you are not in custody). Conditions of release, by law, are supposed to be set to achieve two objectives: (1) get you to return for your next court date; and (2) to keep the public safe. Despite these rules, prosecutors will often ask for stringent conditions of release that have nothing to do with your appearing in court or keeping the public safe. It usually has everything to do with punishing you for being charged with Seattle DUI before you're even convicted.

If conditions of release come up, it is important to have a DUI lawyer in Seattle on your side to help you advocate for your release with minimal conditions imposed.

Up next on the Criminal Attorney in Seattle Blog - the pretrial conference.

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