DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (DUI)
Driving under the Influence penalties are extremely severe and can have long lasting implications on an individual’s driving record and insurance premium rates. To make matters worse, the only evidence against you in a DUI case is likely the subjective belief of a law enforcement officer. Further, there is a mandatory adjudication of guilt, which means that you will never be able to get the charge sealed and taken off your record.
It is important to remember that there are two aspects of a DUI arrest – the civil suspension of your license and the criminal case. Once arrested, you must act quickly when hiring an attorney so they can fight the civil suspension of your license. You have 10 days from the date of arrest to challenge the officer’s actions and get your license back.
The criminal case is independent of the civil suspension of your license. If you were found guilty of the DUI, you will be formally convicted, placed on probation, required to surrender your driver's license for at least six months, impound or immobilize your vehicle for ten days, attend a DUI class, attend a Victim Awareness Panel, perform community service hours, pay a fine, among other minimum mandatory penalties. At the Law Office of Bhavik Patel, our goal is to always have your criminal DUI case dismissed or pled down to a less severe charge of reckless driving. This will keep that DUI
off your permanent record and allow you to eventually get it sealed or expunged in the future.
During his time at the State Attorney’s Office, Mr. Patel prosecuted hundreds of Driving while under the Influence cases, and argued numerous DUI motions in court. He knows the defenses to DUI cases, including the officer lacking probable cause to stop your vehicle, the officer lacking a reasonable suspicion to ask you to complete the Field Sobriety Exercise, the officer lacking probable cause to arrest you for Driving under the Influence, or the officer lacking probable cause to request a sample of your breath or blood.
Contact The Law Office of Bhavik Patel today to have an experienced lawyer help you fight your DUI arrest!