DUI arrests can be overwhelming, especially if it is a person’s first offense. Following an arrest, an individual meets with the magistrate to determine what their bond amount is supposed to be. The person could post bond in order to be released before their trial. The role of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI lawyer during pretrial release is to begin building a defense for an individual. A qualified DUI attorney could devote the time and resources necessary to ensure the best possible outcome in a person’s case.

Documents a Person Receives When They Are Released from Jail

Following a pretrial release, the documents that a person receives, besides their personal property, are copies of citations that were issued to the person by the arresting officer assuming it is a DUI. The person will get a property receipt saying what property was taken by the sheriff’s office and they will have to sign that they got it all back. The person will get a notice of arraignment, which tells them the next court date.

If a person has any money on them, they should get a check for whatever money they took from the person minus any fees that they took from the person for processing the person. It is usually $25 a day. The documents that a person will get back are any charging documents, any citations, any notices of any court dates, and any receipts for property that was taken or given back to the person.

The First Ten Days Following Release

There are many reasons to hire a DUI attorney immediately after or shortly after a person has been arrested for DUI. Number one is that the person’s rights start to expire on the first day. The role of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI lawyer during pretrial release is to do their best to preserve a person’s rights to the best of their abilities.

The first thing an attorney has to do is try to save the defendant’s driver’s license. The person must act within the first 10 days, and the person must not just act within the first 10 days, they must do several things to comply with conditions that must be fulfilled before they are eligible for a hardship license. All of this must be done in the first 10 days. An experienced lawyer can tell the person what they need to do in the first 10 days in order to either get driving privileges restored or to fight or challenge the pending suspension of the person’s license.

Taking Down the Defendant’s Account of What Happened

It is imperative that a person speaks to their attorney while the facts are still fresh in their mind. An attorney can memorialize the person’s account of what happened and have a recording of it so that the person will not forget, not that the person is likely to forget some things shortly after being arrested. It is a traumatizing and sobering experience.

The role of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI lawyer during pretrial release is to follow up on certain aspects of the case such as whether or not the person took a blood test, a breath test, or a urine test, and the government is alleging that the person may be positive for drugs. The person has the opportunity to maybe get an independent drug test, an independent blood test, or an independent urine test to contradict that.

Witnesses in DUI Cases

One role of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI lawyer during pretrial release is to track down the relevant witnesses who can corroborate the defendant’s story. An attorney could also see if there are any witnesses with the person at the time of their arrest. Some people are by themselves when they get pulled over for a DUI but most of the time, people come from parties, dinner dates, dinner at the theater, or just being out with other friends or coworkers. It is important that a lawyer talk to those friends and coworkers in order to get their opinion as to whether or not they thought that the person who was arrested was intoxicated, impaired, or had too much to drink.

If a person is not with friends, colleagues, or coworkers, an investigator can go back to the establishment where the person was and find out who the bartender was that night, whether or not the bartender remembers them, who the server was, and perhaps even get a copy of the receipt or the bar tab to show what the person did or did not have to drink. All these pieces of evidence will start to disappear as time goes on. People will not remember, which is why it is important to act with haste.

Importance of Acting Immediately in Palm Beach Gardens DUI Cases

It is important to get an attorney working on the case right away so that a seasoned DUI lawyer could investigate every angle, every possible fact that could help the person in the case. Cases get stale sometimes. The role of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI lawyer during pretrial release is to make a game plan for what needs to be done, preserve the person’s rights, preserve evidence, and make sure the person has a defendable case. A determined DUI lawyer could devote the time and resources necessary to achieve a positive outcome for the individual.

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