WHAT TO DO WHEN ARRESTED FOR A DUI IN COLUMBIA SC

A DUI is one of the most stressful and scariest crimes that could cause you to walk into a courtroom. A million questions may flood your mind after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Questions like “How will this change my insurance?”, “What do I do if I lose my license?”, “Who can I talk to?”, Alternatively, even “What can I do now?” are all reasonable things to ask yourself. While it could be a stressful event, there are some things you must accomplish to avoid severe penalties. The completion of these few things will allow your first offense DUI court case to go as smoothly as possible.

TAKE NOTES

The first objective you should tackle is taking detailed notes about your stop. Details are the most important part of a case involving DUI. They can drastically affect the outcome of the case, so write down everything you can remember. Even if the detail feels insignificant, write it down. Memory fades quickly, so you need to do this as soon as possible following your DUI arrest in Columbia. The possibility that you forget a fact could ruin your case.

A few questions you can ask yourself help you remember details are:

What time of day was it?
Did you take a breathalyzer test?
Where did your stop take place?
Did the officer say why they stopped you? What was their reason?
Did they have you perform any other tests? What were they?
What did you tell the officer you had recently eaten or drank?

Write anything else you might remember, so you do not have to remember it all inside your head. The only person who should see the notes you take about the accident is your attorney.

MAKE ONLINE PROFILES INACCESSIBLE

The second thing you need to do is set all of your online profiles to private until the case is over. Everyone knows the phrase “anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.” The phrase applies to more than just the things you say, thanks to modern technology. Anything you have posted online are also freely available for anyone to find and use against you, including the prosecutor of your case. The prosecutor for your case will snoop around your online profiles looking for incriminating pictures of you to use at the trial.

Online materials could be catastrophic if presented out of context and can ruin your case and your reputation. A prosecutor who found the right material will have an easy time turning a jury against you. Even if you do set your online profiles to private, it is still possible for a prosecutor to get the info they need, although it will be much more challenging.

HIRE AN ATTORNEY

It is imperative you hire the best Columbia DUI lawyer possible. It is possibly the most important decision you can make in regards to your case. DUI cases are science based so that a DUI trial will be different from other types of cases. Test reports from a lab are often the greatest source of evidence for DUI trials. The tests must follow a set of procedures and a lawyer that understands the science behind the required procedures has the best chance to get you a positive outcome in your court case. If you or someone you care about are about to undergo a DUI trial, call our office. Our Columbia DUI attorneys have the experience needed to aid you and your loved ones present the best possible defense case in court.

FIND PEOPLE WHO MAY BE ABLE TO SHED LIGHT ON YOU IN A POSITIVE MANNER

The next step is to locate any witnesses that can help your case. Anyone who may have seen you before, during, or after your stop may be able to help you. Ask them if they would possibly testify in court for you. A few witnesses can make a great difference in how your case plays out. Your attorney will wish to speak with them before the trial so that the attorney can give the witnesses their statements. Giving them their reports ensures they remember all the important details.

TRY TO RELAX

Finally, you have to try to remain calm. A DUI case can easily be one of the most stressful events to transpire in a person’s life, so it is easy to stress over the consequences and possible outcomes. However, your attorney was hired to take care of the details. Having a strong experienced DUI attorney in Columbia SC should help alleviate some of the stress off of you. You need to keep good communication between the two of you and should notify them if you have any concerns about your upcoming trial.