Canadians: Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a DUI charge?
 

My girlfriends brother is up on a DUI charge. He wants to be able to keep his license at least so he can drive to work and back. His father seems to think that hiring a lawyer is a waste of money. I disagree but don't really know much about it and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with such a situation and if they felt a lawyer helped them in reducing their "sentence".

He should have thought of that before getting behind the wheel and almost killing someone. :mad:

Yeah pretty much he's fucked. Best chance is to hire a taxi to take him there and back, or take the bus. The lawyer can help but there is only so much he can do, and when it comes down to it you can't jump into a boiling pool of lava and pay someone to not get burned.

he can win, ive seen and heard of people winning

apparently your mouth has to be very clean before the test, so if you smoked a ciggarete before the test was taken, chances are it fucked up the result.. lawyers can argue that no problem

also if you have a good lawyer, he might know the judge, so if hes got money, prepare to spend for every point lost

My lawyer got me out of a DUI.

I didn't take the breathlizer and the cop mishandle a procedure.

I got lucky but I would have been fucked without my lawyer.

There is no reducing the sentence if you are in Ontario. Doesn't matter what the lawyer says or what your friend's financial / work situation is. They don't make exceptions.

He will have lost his license for 30 days right off the bat before going to trial, and if he is convicted, he will lose it for 1 year, then he will have to have one of those ignition interlock devicies installed on his vehicle for one year after that, if he wants to drive during that time.

you have to pay a large monthly fee for those, plus they usually slap you with a fine that is $750 to $1000.

Best to talk to a lawyer, I know of people that have gotten off their charges, and it usually costs them about $10,000 in lawyers fees to fight it.

Problem is hes a mechanic and will probably lose his job if he can't test drive cars.

Lawyer will probably get him off... for a price

If you're willing to spend the money DUI's don't usually stick.

in quebec you can ask the judge if you lose your liscnece to drive only during working hours

Hope the fucker gets what he deserves for driving drunk.

Another thing, for the second year when he has to have the ignition interlock device installed, he is not allowed to drive any vehicles that don't have that device installed, so test driving cars is not going to work.

So you can tell him he is not going to be able to drive any vehicles at work for 2 years, if he is in Ontario and this is his first offence.

HOLY FUCK YES GET A LAWYER ASAP!!

Now not just any lawyer get a lawyer that is good and has experience in the courts and knows the law and it's flaws!!

but yes lawyers in Canada fucking rock you can off for anything.

DUI is going to fuck him.

first, its worth getting a lawyer thats familiar with the district he will be charged in... they know the judges, they know which ones will be more lenient then others... regardless.... getting off depends on his blood alcohol level at the time he was breathalized, a good lawyer will get a toxicology test done to try and throw out that reading as false...

so yeah its worth it.. will cost about 10k like said before but its either that, or a criminal record..

it really dpends on the situation he is in. a lawyer will be able to tell him whether or not they can get him off and they usually are pretty realistic in what they tell you. expect it to run anywhere from $8000-12000 to get off on the charge though. it might just be easier for him to plead guilty, wait the 90 days and to get his interlock and drive again...,

A DUI is a criminal convinction. That can affect sooo much that he doesn't realize including the ability to enter the United States, gain employment, etc. Spend every penny as needed to get off the criminal conviction charge.
WG

pleading guilty is the worst possible thing he can do... its not even about the 90 days, or the interlocking device.. its about having a criminal record... that limits you in a LOT of ways, from flying to other countries.. to entering the US, to getting employment.. all they see is a criminal record, not what its for...

if i was ever charged with that shit, i'd spend even more money then the 10k it usually costs just to TRY to get the charges dropped. if he has a clean record, and he didnt do anything really stupid on the road and if he was close to the legal limit, he will probably get off with a careless driving conviction which the insurance will rape him enough for.

anyone going to court for anything without an attorney is an idiot.

it will cost him tho :2 cents::2 cents::2 cents:

spend the money to get off.. its a criminal offence and it will stick with u forever either with a new job or travelling into foreign countries. My buddy just got off and he paid 7k or so..

get a lawyer, NOT just any lawyer, but one who's really experienced in DUI's:2 cents:

Thanks for the advice everyone. I somehow doubt he has that kind of money but if he just takes the charge chances are he is going to lose his job and his house as a result of losing his job. Also, he wasn't drunk, you don't have to drink much to register high enough to get a DUI.

If he is going to lose his job and his house, then he has no choice but to find that kind of money. Not everybody that needs a lawyer is rich, surely some have a payment plan situation?

He got charged in Ontario but lives in Quebec. I'm not sure if it makes a difference where you live or not. He definitely should of known better and its hard to feel sorry for him but at the same time it sucks that he could lose his job/house because he had a few beers.