Birmingham DUI & Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Eversole Law Firm : Criminal and DUI Defense : Serving Birmingham, Montgomery, Alabama

Many people in Alabama have similar questions concerning Alabama DUI law.  As a result, in my next several posts, I will compile a list of frequently asked questions pertaining to Alabama DUI laws:

1. What should I say when a police officer asks if I have been drinking?  There is not really a right or wrong answer to this question(as long as you don't say, six beers and four tequila shots officer).  Seriously though, you are not required to answer potentially incriminating questions.  The best answer is "I would like to speak with my attorney before answering that questions."  However, if you say you had a couple beers or a glass of wine that is not enough to cause intoxication, is not incriminating and may help explain the smell of alcohol on your breath.
2. Do I have the right to an attorney after being stopped by a police officer in Alabama? The short answer is no, not until you have been arrested.  You can, and still should ask for one.
3. Should I take a Field Sobriety Test in Alabama? No! There is no reason to give a jury more evidence to convict.  The officer has normally already decided to arrest you anyway.  A field sobriety test just gives them more ammunition at trial, and the tests are completely subjective.  However, if you do take a field sobriety test and fail, there are several means to attack that evidence at trial. 
4. How much does an Alabama DUI lawyer and attorney cost? Costs vary from DUI lawyer to DUI lawyer.  A lawyer who focuses his practice on DUI defense will cost more than a general practitioner in a small town.  Fees can range anywhere from $500 to $15,000 depending on the DUI lawyer and circumstances of the case.  I will say that a quality DUI defense can be expensive.  A good analogy I heard one time goes like this, when you need a tumor removed, do you go the cheapest doctor you can find?  However, my office tries to make sure even those with limited funds can afford a quality DUI defense. We have fixed fees, accept major credit cards, and even work out flexible payment plans in some circumstances.
5. Can I be convicted of a DUI without consuming alcohol? Yes, in Alabama you can be convicted of a DUI without consuming alcohol.  You can be convicted of an Alabama DUI by being under the influence of a controlled substance(i.e. marijuana or prescription medications), even legal prescription medications prescribed by a doctor(percocet), or any other substance that renders you incapable of driving safely, i.e. glues, paints, or even over-the-counter medications.

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My firm believes in protecting the rights of those accused of driving under the influence in Alabama, regardless of where you were charged.  I represent clients charged with a DUI in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Huntsville, Mobile, Hoover, Pelham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Gardendale, Montgomery, Fultondale, Florence, Guntersville, Arab, Decatur, Cullman, Boaz, Fort Payne, Scottsboro, or charged in Jefferson County, Shelby County, Madison County, Montgomery County, or Mobile County.   My firm's Birmingham, Alabama location allows us to regularly defense those charged with a DUI throughout the state of Alabama.  I am the "go to guy" for an Alabama DUI defense lawyer and attorney.  I spend hundreds of hours a year just reading the latest DUI defense news and learning DUI defense from the best DUI defense lawyers and attorneys in the country. 

My firm also tries to make DUI defense affordable.  I understand that good DUI defense lawyers and attorneys are expensive, and everyone does not have the same access to these kinds of quality DUI lawyers.  At Eversole Law, we try to structure our fees so that anyone who has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can afford their defense.  As a result of our continued hope to bring quality DUI defense lawyers to those that may not have been able to afford such a defense in the past, on top of our already competitive pricing,  we offer payment plans, and we accept major credit cards.  Our goal is to help make sure everyone who needs a  high quality DUI defense lawyer is able to afford one. 

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I received a phone call yesterday from a perspective client in Birmingham, Alabama.  She received a DUI coming back from the Alabama Football game this past weekend.  She was charged with driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia(a small pipe commonly used for smoking marijuana).  She was charged with the DUI in Shelby County, Alabama, in the city of Pelham.  She blew a .10, which is over the legal limit of .08% blood alcohol level, failed the field sobriety test, and threw up in the police car. 

It was her first offense and I will be able to negotiate a pre-trial diversion for the DUI charge and drug court for the paraphernalia charge.  Thus, when she completes an alcohol abuse program, pays her fines, and doesn't get another DUI within a year, her record is wiped clean. 

Drug court is also a version of pre-trial diversion.  Once you complete the program's specifications, fines, drug abuse counseling, drug tests, and stay out of trouble, your Alabama drug charges are removed from your record.  Thus, I will be able to get my client's record wiped completely clean. 

Sometimes however, this method is not the best solution.  Just because I can get your record clean after a DUI or drug possession charge in Hoover, Trussville, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Moody, or all across Alabama, does not mean that is the best criminal defense strategy to employ.  Even if you get DUI diversion or drug court,  you just used up your get out of jail free card, so to speak.  If you ever receive another charge, those options will not be available to you.  Many times, a DUI or Drug charge can be challenged in court, and when the case is dismissed or you win a jury trial, you still have the option of using drug court or DUI pre-trial diversion to your benefit, if something like this ever happens again. 

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I defend clients across the great state of Alabama charged with driving under the influence.  My firm's central location in Birmingham, Alabama allows us to regularly defend clients throughout the state and in Jefferson County, including Mountain Brook, Hoover, Pelham, Vestavia Hills, Moody, Leeds, Homewood, Hueytown, Trussvile, Gardendale, Fultondale, Fairfield, Bessemer, Adamsville and Pleasant Grove.  As a Birmingham, Alabama DUI Defense Lawyer, I also defend clients in Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama. 

My firm believes you are innocent until proven guilty of driving under the influence, or DUI/DWI.  We will fight for your rights in every Alabama County and in every Alabama Court.  You do not have to plead guilty to DUI charges, even if you blow above the legal limit.  There are many ways to challenge a DUI charge in court.  My firm focuses our practice on making these challenges.  We also believe in making quality DUI defense an affordable option for people who want to defend themselves against DUI charges.  When you cannot afford to lose, call Eversole Law,  and say "bye bye" to your DUI. 

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Field sobriety tests are very inaccurate.  The tests are completely subjective and should not be used as proof of guilt in any court proceeding.  Has anyone ever passed a field sobriety test in Alabama?  I doubt it.  If the cop wants to arrest you, you can bet the night in jail that your performance on a field sobriety test will make little difference.  Apparently, cops are like superman, they have laser vision.  They are able to discern an inch difference in the placement of your feet on a dark highway with little to no light,  and are able to stand on one foot while counting for 30 seconds at a time, without ever moving a muscle or slightly adjusting their leg.  I don't know about you, but standing on one foot for thirty seconds is hard to do at all, sober or not.  Don't believe me, try it.  Make sure your foot does not touch your leg or almost touch the ground, and make sure you don't sway too much while doing so either.  I have heard all these grounds used as a cops reasoning to arrest someone for DUI.  As I have said on this blog several times, do not take a field sobriety test. 

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A first time DUI conviction can land you in jail.  You could face a year in jail for one DUI conviction.  One DUI can also have other serious consequences.  You can go to jail, pay large fines, lose your drivers license for 90 days, your car insurance will triple, you may lose your job or security clearance at work, and it could ruin your reputation with your friends, neighbors or co-workers.  Furthermore, a DUI conviction will stay on your record forever.  There is no expungement provision in Alabama.  

Most people charged with a DUI have much to lose.  Do not plead guilty until you speak with a criminal defense attorney that focuses their practice on DUI defense. Too many people blindly try to make these charges go away by quickly pleading guilty to the charges.  An Alabama DUI charge is a serious offense and you need to take it seriously.  Pleading guilty is normally the last option.  You are innocent until proven guilty and you should make the state prove your guilt in court.

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When you are arrested for a DUI in Alabama your case will be heard in a particular court.  The specific court your case is docketed in depends on several factors; including which police agency arrested you and how many Driving Under the Influence convictions you have.  If it's your first DUI or your second, the case is still a misdemeanor and your case will be in either a municipal or district court of the county in which you were arrested.  If you have three DUI convictions, your case is a felony and you will be scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the District Court of the county in which you were arrested.  A felony DUI conviction may also be heard originally in the Circuit Court of the county you were arrested, depending on how you were charged.

If you are arrested for a DUI in a municipality by a municipal police officer, your case will be heard in the municipal court of that city(i.e. Mountain Brook) if that city has a municipal court.  Municipal courts and district courts are what we lawyers call, "courts of limited jurisdiction."  This just means that these courts have no power to hear felony DUI cases.  A district court can, however, have preliminary hearings in felony DUI cases. 

There is no right to a jury trial in either a municipal or district court.  If one of these courts hear your case and you exercise your right to have a trial, then you will have a bench trial.  A bench trial is a trial before a judge only, with no jury.  If you chose to have a trial in either a district or municipal court and are convicted, you have a right to appeal that conviction to a circuit court of the county you were arrested for a new trial.  In order to perfect your right to a DUI conviction from a district or municipal court, you must file a notice of appeal within 14 days of conviction and post an appeal bond.  If you do not file within the time allotted you forfeit your right to any appeal.  You are entitled to a jury trial in circuit court.  If you lose in circuit court, you can always appeal that decision to the Alabama appellate courts.

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Have you been charged with a DUI in Alabama?  If so, you have only 10 days to request an administrative hearing or your license will be suspended.  You should receive notice of this fact from the arresting officer.  If you lose your license, your only option is to appeal the decision to the Circuit Court within 30 days. 

The license loss is distinct from any criminal penalties. This means that you can lose your license while being found "guilty," or "not guilty," in an Alabama DUI trial.  Makes you wonder what happened to the concept, "innocent until proven guilty."  In this case, it's not even, "guilty until proven innocent."  It's simply, "guilty."  Now some will argue that balancing this equation is the administrative hearing.  But does the administrative hearing really provide the same kind of safe guards that are enshrined into our Constitution and afforded those accused of crimes?  Furthermore, even if you somehow believe that taking someone's license for a crime he has not been proven to commit is fair, I would then scream Double Jeopardy.  It is supposedly illegal to charge someone with the same crime twice, no matter how you look at it, and no matter how it may have been interpreted, the prohibition against Doubly Jeopardy is not esoteric.  It's plain meaning will suffice. 

Sorry for the digressive rant.  Back to my original subject.  The 10 day rule applies to you if you meet any of the following conditions:

• BAC over .08 while driving or under control of a vehicle
• BAC at or above .02 and you are below the age of 21
• BAC over .04 at time of arrest for Commercial Drivers
• You refused to take breath test

If you do not request an administrative hearing within ten days of arrest you will lose your license. You could lose your license in this manner anywhere from 90 days to several years.  Factors to be considered in determining how long you could lose your license include:

1. Driving Category
2. Age
3. Driving Record

Moral of the story, hire an Alabama DUI & Criminal Defense attorney that focuses his practice on defending those accused of a DUI.  I spend hundreds of hours perfecting the defense of those accused of DUI.  I have read all relevant publications, including hundreds of DUI and Criminal Defense Blogs from all over the country.  I also regularly attend legal education seminars devoted to DUI defense. Not to mention , I obsessively update this blog to make it the best source of information available to those accused on a DUI in Alabama.  Combined I spend around 25-30 hours a week studying Alabama DUI & Criminal Defense Law.  The law is way too complicated these days for an attorney to be a jack-of-all-trades.  When your reputation, money, job, or freedom is on the line, you need an attorney that makes Alabama DUI & Criminal Defense his priority.  Riddle me this:  Did you get your plumbing fixed by the electrician?

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A motorist being investigated for DUI should not consent to a blood alcohol test.  My advice to anyone who reads this blog before getting arrested for a DUI, is never take a breathalyzer, field sobriety test, or any test administered by the police or any of its agents.  However, most people do not realize they can decline to take the field sobriety or breath test.  The police, of course, will not inform you of your right not to consent prior to taking the breath test.  In fact, they will make a big show of how your license will be suspended for 90 days if you do not submit to the test. 

There are different types of blood alcohol tests in Alabama: urine, breath and blood.  The police  use the breath test almost exclusively.  If you do consent to a breath test for DUI, which is normal, most people do consent to testing, you have the right to get an independent test of your blood alcohol content.  In Alabama, the police will not inform you of your right to get an independent test of your blood alcohol content.  You must make the demand for independent testing yourself, and you must take the police administered test to exercise your right to independent blood alcohol testing. You will also have to make the arrangements for the independent test and you must pay all expenses.  However, the police must give you reasonable access to arrange for an independent test.  Their failure to provide you access to independent testing gives rise to grounds for suppression of the police administered blood alcohol testing. 

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Jeremy Stevens, the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's tight-end, was found guilty of DUI today.  The officer that testified against Stevens, said "he smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech."  I find this interesting because this seems to be the standard refrain from police officers in DUI cases.  It's like they are issued manuals pieced together from old DUI case law.  Those three descriptions are testified to with such repetition, you would think everyone who ever drove a car after drinking, must poor kegs of beer over their heads, smoke a pound of hash, and get so stumbling drunk they talk like Otis from the Andy Griffith show.  

What is so shocking about this kind of testimony is its subjectivity.  Lets say the cop had a bad day, or you just pissed him off because you didn't kiss his bloody bum.  It becomes really easy for him to say, "You smell like alcohol, step out of the car."  It is also really easy to make up on the stand when pressured by defense counsel.  I know most cops would not do these things. But in my experience, I have seen it occur to often to believe it doesn't happen with some regularity. 

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Ha Ha Ha!  Fellow blogger, and the "Go to guy for DUI"(in California that is),  Hunter Biederman nails Judge Smails...umm...I mean William Kortemier for refusing to take a breath test.  See Hunter expose the fat cats for what they are.  Biederman illuminates the hypocrisy many in power dish out on a daily basis.  Now I am a big believer of the idea that you are not guilty, and innocent until proven guilty, in court, by a jury of your peers, and beyond a reasonable doubt.  However, I bet he is a kind of guy who deals harshly with alcohol offenders, and who will take advantage of every legal trick in the book to get out of his DUI, then look down his nose at us mere mortals.  The moral of this story ladies and gents, please, for the love of God, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu, Zeus, or Odin, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE(UNLESS YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A SIP OF ALCOHOL IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE-(AND YOU STILL PROBABLY SHOULDN'T) take a breath test, by the road or at the police station;  or take a field sobriety test(AT LEAST WITHOUT YOUR ATTORNEY PRESENT-AND YOU STILL PROBABLY SHOULDN'T)!

Be like the fat cats. They have the inside knowledge and power. They don't take DUI field sobriety tests. They don't take DUI breath tests. The reason the fat cats don't take DUI field sobriety tests or DUI breathalyzers is simple. They know it is much more difficult to prove driving under the influence of alcohol when you don't have physical evidence.  When you take a breath test or field sobriety test, you are literally just handing over evidence to help convict yourself.  You might as well drive your car through the police station window, while puking, with bottles of Jack Daniels rolling across the dash, stumble up to the first police officer you see, and slurringly say, "I'll have a double my good man."

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