This is a serious situation. DWI is a criminal offense, and it's one that a lot of people won't have much sympathy for you over. Everybody's situation is different, and maybe if they heard the details, they'd understand what happened. You didn't realize how intoxicated you were, you didn't have any other option, you were the soberest person there and you all had to leave, you didn't do it and you're being railroaded- you're going to have to look hard to find someone who's sympathetic to your plight. Almost everybody knows somebody who died or was seriously injured in an accident involving a DWI. Perhaps you were injured or injured other people.
You need someone who specializes in DWI offenses to help you with your court case. Ideally, you want someone who is as local to you as humanly possible. It may not always be feasible, but you need to at least find someone who practices in your state and may be familiar with the judges and police department in your town. They'll know what questions to ask, they'll be familiar with the quirks of this judge or that, and be able to guide you through the grueling process of facing charges.
You want someone who works specifically with DWI of the way United States case law works. Much of the law, both criminal and civil, work off what is known as precedent. Precedent is what it sounds like- cases that have been ruled on previously are used to interpret the case at hand. A lawyer who specializes in criminal cases generally may not be as well read on cases specific to DWI as someone who specializes- there's such a large amount of court cases that it would be difficult if not impossible for any one person to be well-read in every legal specialty.
If you know an attorney, either as a friend or a friend of a parent or perhaps you had your will written up at some point, unless they specialize in DWI (which is unlikely, but possible) it's probably not ideal to use them as your DWI attorney. They may be able to give you a reference to one they know, it's not that they're absolutely useless, it's just that they may not have the specific knowledge they would need to guide you through this. (In all likelihood, they will tell you this if you talk to them about it.)
A DWI lawyer will be able to help you navigate the court system as well as possibly negotiate lighter penalties. DWI cases are often special cases. Not just potentially facing jail or fines, you could also be facing license restrictions, driving restrictions, you may need to enter a rehabilitation program or take driving classes- and that's just some of the more common ones. So having someone who specializes in this kind of law can help you negotiate a solution for you- you may be able to take a plea bargain for lesser penalties, especially if it's your first offense and nobody else was injured.
To learn more information, reach out to a DWI lawyer near you.
