While seasoned lawyers make trying cases look easy, there is a great deal of DUI trial preparation before court. So what do DUI attorneys do to get ready?
DUI Trial Preparation
Unlike civil cases, DWI trials do not last more than a day and a half to two days on average. Nevertheless, a trial lawyer has to thoroughly prepare every case from scratch. Although there are similar defenses, every case and its facts are different. In addition, each case has particular issues that can make or break the final result. Consequently, it takes many hours to get ready for trial before going to court.
Before developing a case theory, the lawyer first must read every page in the file. Also, any video evidence is often critical to winning jury appeal. So after reading and watching everything in the file, the lawyer next makes a trial outline. Rather than “go with the flow” a good trial lawyer wants to control the evidence and presentation. After all, juries respond well to simple, easy to follow cases. So we try to make our cases both interesting and persuasive on behalf of our client. Because juries don’t trust complicated cases, we try to keep ours simple.
So How Do We Keep It Simple
While juries are there to judge witness credibility, we find it best to highlight truly objective evidence. Rather than he said/she said, we prefer evidence that shows a jury something they trust themselves. For example, everyone knows what “drunk” or “impaired” looks like and sounds like. So if a client looks good on video, we simply point out they walk and talk just fine. In addition, we show them that our client did something that a truly drunk person could not do. Because driving at a high speed requires focus and concentration, no one truly impaired could do that. Consequently, they may be guilty of speeding but not driving while impaired.
Because we love to try cases, our lawyers look forward to getting in the ring. Furthermore, if you are not willing to go to trial, you have no business defending DUI cases. After all, in many cases, this may be the only real option. However, before our clients decide, we go over the evidence in full and answer all of their questions. Then, they have the information they need to make the best decision for themselves and their family. Try not to worry. As promised, we will be there beside you every step of the way.