Sometimes people make bad decisions. I know I have in my life. The thing that separates me from a lot of my clients is that I was lucky (or smart) enough not to get caught when I was making a bad decision. But not everyone is so lucky. That is why they find themselves calling a Seattle DUI attorney to help them when they’ve been busted for DUI.
But if you do need my services, or the services of someone else, all is not lost. There are often ways that we can look at your case, find some things that are not good from a prosecution perspective, point them out to the prosecutor, and work out a deal that gets you the least amount of punishment possible. The short description of this is plea bargaining.
It is the prosecutor’s job to bring justice. It is the job of the Seattle DUI lawyer to get you out of trouble. Period. That is why we do what we can to get the charges beat if possible, and work backward form there. A good resolution to many Seattle DUI cases is a plea to negligent driving first degree.
What is negligent driving first degree? In short, it is negligent driving with alcohol on your breath. This can be excessive speed, it can be weaving in your lane, it can be a broken tail light. It can essentially be whatever the prosecutor and defense attorney can agree on it being.
This is usually a good alternative for a couple of reasons. First, it carries no driver’s license suspension. This is good for you. Second, it carries no minimum jail time. Again, a good thing. Third, it is only a misdemeanor, and entire classification of crimes lower than a DUI. And, finally, the prosecutor can live with it because if you ever get another DUI this resolution will count as a previous DUI for sentencing purposes.
Even the best DUI attorneys can’t get every case dismissed. Sometimes the best resolution is minimizing the damage as much as possible. A negligent driving first degree charge meets this goal. Consider it if you are ever charged with DUI in Seattle.
