Almost daily, as I listen to criminal attorneys describe their success, I question whether the attorneys are really helping their criminal clients. Take the following scenario as an example:
A 23 year old client comes into an attorney’s office with a court date for a DUI. The client presents a video capturing the vehicle stop to the attorney; and they view it together. The video shows the client weaving a little within his lane. He never leaves the lane, or even touches the line on the roadway. The video also shows the client performing very well on the field sobriety tests. Then, the client tells the attorney he blew a .17 on the breathalyzer machine.
With that factual scenario in mind, what is the first thing that an experienced attorney should reveal to the client? The very first thing!
Most experienced attorneys are going to explain that they can beat the case. Clearly the case can be won. It might be won on the motion to suppress the stop, since there was insufficient evidence to warrant a stop of the vehicle. If might be won on the motion to suppress the breathalyzer results, because there was insufficient evidence to justify the arrest of the client. Maybe it will be won because the officer was ill-trained to recognize clues indicating impairment. The issue is not whether, as the attorney, you can win the case, but what do you tell the client first.
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