- Court Procedure and Attorneys in DUI Cases
- Do I need an attorney?
- What to look for in an attorney
- How much does an attorney charge for drunk driving?
- I didn't get a ticket. What now?
- Should I accept an impaired?
- An overview of probation: the consequences of a plea
- What is "discovery" in drunk driving cases?
- Drunk driving: Bench trial or jury trial
- The Maze Legal Group
- Michigan's Drunk Driving Laws
- Driver License Sanctions and License Reinstatement
- Drunk Driving Defenses
- Field Sobriety Tests
- Breath and Blood Testing
- Michigan's Courts Enforcing Drunk Driving Laws
- Michigan Police Departments Directory
- Resources and DUI Attorney Directory
- DUI DWI Defense Videos
- News and Updates from the Maze Legal Group
- Home
Do I need an attorney?
Printer friendly page of this article.
No, you do not need an attorney. Most people are capable on a first time offense of obtaining a plea agreement to impaired driving without jail.
Prosecutors do not like to take cases to trial, and they offer plea agreements to avoid trials. A few local prosecutors have never taken a drunk driving case to trial, despite the hundreds of drunk driving cases processed in every district court annually. Prosecutors understand that there is little difference between OWI 1st and Operating While Impaired, and it's no secret that they want a driver to plead to impaired.
Only an attorney is capable of reviewing your case for defects and defenses. Because it is unlikely that you will recognize the defects and defenses without legal training and experience, it is important that the facts of a particular case be reviewed by an experienced attorney.
For most people, this charge is serious enough to merit hiring an attorney. Accepting a plea to impaired driving without an attorney might save money in the short run, but the long term consequences of accepting a plea agreement to impaired driving may be far more expensive.
Keep in mind that a charge of drunk driving is not a conviction, and a person charged with drunk driving has several procedural and substantive defenses. Accepting a plea agreement waives all of those defenses.
