Court is NOT the Principal’s Office!
You will feel out of control of your life, lost and scarred after being arrested for a DUI. This is how everyone feels. It is my job as an expert DUI defense lawyer to help people when they are in this “space” to move forward. What you need to do is “lawyer up.” Don’t talk any further with the police and definitely do not talk with the prosecutor or make any statements in court without a reputable and experienced defense attorney at your side and on your side. A court is not the “principal’s office.”
In school, you could “come clean” about what you had done wrong and for the most part, little would happen or you would be forgiven. Not so in criminal court. You are no longer a child. And, the law is not a forgiving parent or caretaker. Rather, the law punishes people and costs people their jobs and careers, ability to drive, large sums of money, freedom, and much more.
I say this because good people often get some of the worst outcomes in criminal court unless they have the best attorneys by their side. Such people expect the court to reward them for being honest and responsible. Frequently, the legal system does not do so. Instead, the criminal courts have a tendency to step on a person’s sense of self-respect. I have been in court nearly every business day for the past fifteen years and regularly have seen good people accidentally convict themselves or make their punishment worse.
I do not let my clients do this. Mostly, it is best for accused persons to “remain silent” in court and to talk through their lawyers. Now you know another reason that you want to have the best DUI defense attorney. Your attorney is going to be talking for you to the prosecutor and the judge, or even the jury. Your lawyer is quite literally representing you. Shouldn’t you choose the best spokesperson for you? Someone who will make you look good before the court?
One of my favorite parts of my job is finding good things about my clients to say to the court. I like to set my clients apart from the crowd. And, to show the court why my clients will be successful.
Judges are very used to seeing people standing in the same place every day before the court in trouble, accused of committing one crime or another. Most of these people do not look very impressive. The way the court is set up tends to make people feel weak and defensive. This never looks very good.
I like to stand beside or slightly in front of my clients in court and take the pressure of the situation and attention onto myself and off of my client.s This allows my clients to feel more at ease and to make a better impression on the judge and court. For the most part, I speak for my clients and allow them to fill in or interject when they’re comfortable doing so.