If you have been charged with a DWI and are now facing an upcoming court date, it's important to know what you should and should not do. After all, although facing these types of charges is never really a good thing, handling the situation properly can help you ensure that things go as well for you as possible. For example, you should make sure that you don't make the following common yet potentially harmful mistakes while you're dealing with this type of legal situation.
Represent Yourself
You might assume that the DWI laws in your state are pretty straightforward, and you might not really think there is anything that you can do to beat the charge. Therefore, you might just be planning on representing yourself, such as by pleading guilty in court. You might assume this is a good way to save money since you might assume that legal fees will be expensive if you choose to hire a lawyer. However, it's usually not a good idea to represent yourself, even if you plan on pleading guilty to your DWI charges. Therefore, if this is something that you are thinking about doing, you might want to reconsider.
Hire a Public Defender
Of course, if you really and truly cannot afford to hire an attorney on your own, you are probably better off hiring a public defender than representing yourself. However, if you can avoid hiring a public defender and can instead hire your own attorney, this is probably what you will want to do. After all, if you hire your own attorney, there is a good chance that they will be able to dedicate more time to your case. Plus, if you hire a public defender, you will not be able to choose your own attorney. If you choose your own attorney, on the other hand, you can purposely pick someone who has experience with handling DWI cases and who you can count on to handle your case as well as possible.
Withhold Information From Your Attorney
Remember that in order to get ample help from your attorney, you will need to tell them the truth about your situation. After all, if your attorney does not have the details of your situation, then it will be hard for them to properly represent you. If you tell them the truth and give them as many details as possible, on the other hand, they will be better prepared to defend you.
Contact a DWI defense lawyer to learn more.
