I Take Pride In Helping Good People Accused Of DUI
The people I represent for DUI are without fail, decent hard working people. They come to me from all types of employment, backgrounds and locations. The one trait in common nearly all of them share is the frustration at being labeled a criminal within the justice system. A DUI must be taken seriously and be dealt with aggressively. As a license suspension is usually the first form of punishment applied while a dui prosecution is pending, most clients reasonably devote time and attention to when they can get their license back. Your lawyer must not only advise you as to what can be done to accomplish a license reinstatement as soon as possible, but more significantly, how to eliminate the prospect of criminal punishment down the road should a case not be subject to dismissal.
Where a case cannot be dismissed without the risk of trial, we must guard against the imposition of various forms of criminal confinement be it home detention and/or the imposition of costly monitoring units in cases where jail is not warranted. As a result, it is essential that your attorney have the required mastery over the rules of Indiana DUI Procedure in order to make sure that you or a loved one is legally protected at each stage of a dui prosecution. I will be happy to answer further questions about your case at no charge.
The DUI Process In Johnson County
The way a defense lawyer in Johnson County defends a case is often far different than other court systems in the State of Indiana. Designated courts are assigned to hear all of the drunk driving cases prosecuted. Once arrested, drunk driving defendants are processed in the Johnson County Jail in Franklin. Thereafter, the case will be assigned to Superior or City Court in Franklin or Greenwood City Court where a Defendant’s Initial Hearing rights are read.
At this stage, if probable cause has been found that one has tested at or above .08, a court order suspending the driver’s license will be sent either before a first initial hearing court date or following the initial hearing to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
This order, will in effect, suspend the accused’s drivers license while the case is pending and before a finding of guilt. Once and if released, the defendant will ultimately receive in the mail notice from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) that the license has been suspended for one hundred eighty (180) days. (One year in the case of an alleged “Refusal” to submit to a breath test). However, this time period is likely to change once charges have been resolved in court.
It is usually soon after one has been released from processing when an attorney would be contacted in order to immediately take all steps to safeguard the rights and future options of an accused client.
At the beginning of a drunk driving case, one of the first steps to be taken is for your lawyer to pro actively engage all relevant individuals within the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office who have been assigned to prosecute. It is critical that an appearance be put on file with both the court and prosecutor’s office formally notifying of my representation as soon as possible. Early intervention is essential in sending a message early and often that my client’s rights and unique circumstances will be adequately addressed. Further, such action can ensure that the filing of excess and unwarranted charges are prevented.
In cases where an attorney is able to acquire knowledge that the client is being investigated prior to criminal charges being filed, your lawyer must be familiar with the screening process and prosecutors within the pre screening division of the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office. Significant effort must be put forward at such a stage to do anything and everything to address individual prosecutor(s) and point out why dui charges may not be warranted. It should go without mention that an defense attorney’s experience and knowledge of the screening process is a necessary component when attempting to head off such a prosecution.
In the best of circumstances, a skilled attorney’s efforts can point out weaknesses in the prosecution’s case that can quickly resolve or even have all charges dismissed by agreement before further proceedings are necessary. While always the ultimate objective, most dismissals come either through the filing of pre trial motions to probable cause for the arrest in question or a hard fought trial victory decided in the court that the case has been randomly assigned to.
If you have the good fortune to have your criminal prosecution dismissed, knowledge of sentencing options within Johnson County do not need to be addressed. However, for many, your lawyer’s knowledge of any and all sentencing alternatives to incarceration available will often be critical to an outcome that allows for the client’s future well being to be protected. For example, for multiple offenders there are alternative facilities that can and should be utilized to eliminate or reduce the prospect of incarceration altogether. Our knowledge of the pre approval process for facilities such as the Johnson County Community Corrections Department has often been the first start toward successfully giving our clients favorable options when they believed all hope to be lost.
If challenged by a DUI in Johnson County, one must not lose hope. Call us for free. We believe that the knowledge we can provide you will give you the peace of mind knowing that you or one you care for has a trusted resource to turn to in your time of need.
