I've been arrested for DUI. What should I do?
DMV will automatically suspend your license if you do not request a hearing within ten days of your arrest. You must contact the DMV Driver Safety office that serves your area* to make this request.
*Not the field office, where you go for registration and license renewals!
The police want to talk to me. Should I go to the station?
Absolutely not! At some point in every criminal investigation, the focus shifts from finding out what happened to gathering information to convict someone. You don't know whether the cops want to hear your side of the story, or whether they want to get incriminating statements, which may be taken out of context, in order to convict you.
Beware the pretext phone call. If you're under investigation, the police may have someone call you and try to elicit incriminating evidence from you. These calls are recorded and may be used in court. This often happens in investigations of sex cases, when the alledged victim (or, in the case of child molestation charges, a parent or adult relative) calls the suspect on the phone and starts asking questions like, "Did you do something when I was passed out last night?" If you get a call that sounds like this, hang up.
My loved one is in jail. Should I post bail?
This is a very difficult question to answer, with a very personal answer.
First of all, a bit of advice. When a child, spouse or friend calls you from the jail, do not talk about the details of their case. Calls from jail are tape recorded, and your phone conversation may be used as evidence at a trial. In addition, remind your loved one not to talk with anyone at the jail about their case. Jails are crawling with informants, also known as snitches or rats. These criminally-sophisticated vermin are master manipulators who will try to get incriminating information they can then offer to the prosecution in return for a break in their own case.
If you can handle a couple of days in jail, an attorney can often get you released at your first court date (depending, of course, on variables like past criminal record and the seriousness of the current charges). However, jail can be a scary place, and many people want to get out immediately.
If you have the cash to post the entire bail amount, then you will get the money back at the end of the case, as long as the defendant makes his or her court dates.
Many people who don't have the full bail amount contact a bail bond company. A bail bond is like an insurance policy, promising to pay the full bail amount if the defendant doesn't come to court. Usually, the premium for the bail bond is ten percent of the total bail amount (although I can often negotiate a lower rate). Once you pay this premium amount, you will not get it back.
In some cases, it is possible to pledge the equity in your home as bail. This process can take about ten days.
Where is the email link on your website?
There isn't one -- and there's a very specific reason for that.
First of all, email isn't secure. The information you send could wind up in the wrong hands.
I also owe all of my clients a duty of loyalty. That means I need to review my list of clients to be certain I won't have a conflict of interest if I take your case.
