In North Carolina, it seems that law enforcement officers arrest residents or visitors to the state for driving while intoxicated pretty much daily. Some of these people are not guilty of the crime, and legal counsel can help them prove it, but many of them are. If guilty of DWI, you may think there isn’t much legal counsel can do for you, but that simply isn’t true.
Even if you are guilty of DWI, you do not have to sit back and let the courts decide your fate. An experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to help you minimize the consequences associated with a conviction. There are three specific ways legal counsel may be able to help your case.
Reduce jail time
In North Carolina, if found guilty of DWI, you’re likely to spend time in jail. How much time, though, depends on a number of factors — such as your blood-alcohol content, if you caused an accident with injuries and if you have any DWIs already on your record. Legal counsel can help you fight to reduce the amount of time you end up behind bars. It may also be possible to move straight to probation or court-ordered rehabilitation so that you can avoid jail time entirely.
Probation
Many people convicted of DWI charges end up on probation. How long and whether it is supervised probation is up to the court. With assistance from counsel, you may be able to reduce the length of probation or at least fight for it to be unsupervised.
Money
There are two ways a criminal defense attorney may be able to help save you money when dealing with DWI charges. First, if convicted, legal counsel may be successful at reducing any fines you owe. Second, legal costs may become lower as your attorney may help you address the matter quickly, rather than having things drag out, which will cost you more in the end.
The sooner you seek help, the better
The sooner you seek assistance addressing DWI charges, the better. This is not something you want to put off, and your future is not something you want to put into anyone else’s hands. A DWI conviction can have a lot of negative consequences for you and your family. The stakes are high. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you achieve the best outcome possible.