The morning after you received a charge of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) there are steps you can take to start to win and handle your case.
First:
Get all of your papers you received from the police officer, police station together. These documents are important for your case and might be the only documents you and your attorney will have access to until the first court date.
Second:
Retrieve your vehicle. In most DUI arrests the police tow your vehicle and getting your car back usually costs quite a bit of money. The charges are several hundred dollars for the tow. Additionally, an administrative fee for the village between $500.00 and $2,100.00 (City of Chicago). Because storage fee increase everyday, the sooner you get your vehicle the less it will ultimately cost you. In most cases, you can consider they administrative fee as a payment you will never get back. This is because to have the fee returned to you, you must prove that there was no reason that a police officer would consider that you might be intoxicated. Only in very unusual cases this part of the case is not contested.
Third:
The court is going to require you to have an attorney. Finding an experienced DUI attorney is your first step. Things to look for when searching for a DUI attorney should include his or her experience handling DUI cases, the number of DUI cases he or she handled, recent trial victories, and an attorney that will take the time with you to explain the process.
Many attorneys will treat you one way before you hire them and a different way after they have been paid. Although there is no way to know for sure if the attorney you select will act this way, one clue might be how you are treated before you hire them. Do they insist that you come to their office before discussing your case. Do they give you very general information over the telephone. They may not speak specifically about the facts of your case. These may be indicators that you should consider before hiring an attorney.
The above steps will help you start the process of defending yourself against the DUI charge.
