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My son was charged with a DUI and does not qualify for WA legal advice, what can he do or who can he contact for help, or is he on his own? Needs help financially, needs advice for an affordable attorney, and where he possibly can pay payments in okanogan washington?Thanks! Donna
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Washington Already Tried: Appointed district attorney; non qualification Spoke to case worker of offense Goes to court on 06/19/2012
Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question. I am sending this answer to you only a few minutes after you submitted your question.I'm sorry to hear about your son's situation. My understanding is that you're wondering how he can find an affordable attorney. If you have further questions about DUI, please use Reply to let me know. While it's not possible for me to provide direct referrals in this forum, I can provide you with some great resources that you can use to locate an attorney. Each attorney sets his or her own prices and each attorney decides which clients to accept, so he may have to look around a little bit to locate an attorney who will work out payments, accept a credit card, or work for the rate that is in your son's price range. With regard to making determinations as to pricing, really, all he can do is ask the specific attorney how much he'll have to charge. Lawyers.com and Martindale.com are great resources. Both of these sites enable you to search for an attorney based on the attorney's field(s) of practice and geographic region. Additional information may also be available (links to the attorneys' websites, reviews, etc.). That information can help you to evaluate the attorneys. Local Lawyer Referral Services are similar search tools. The discount/free assistance available to the poor, for criminal defense, is the public defender system. Therefore, aside from that, your son would generally need to work out a deal with a private attorney.
Experience: Attorney
This was his first offense, what can he do now to help his defense? Thanks!
Thank you for your message. DUI is really complex and it's highly scientific. It's a very complicated area of law and it's really not something he should try to represent himself in. The best thing he can do, with a DUI, is to retain counsel immediately. The sooner he acts, the better off he'll be, as he's likely facing an administrative license suspension. That usually takes place within a matter of days from the date of the initial arrest. Once he retains counsel, the best thing he can do is to be fully open with his attorney. All of the detailed facts are relevant, including details related to the stop, why it happened, etc. because that may provide a basis for his attorney to challenge the stop itself. Other information, such as the amount of time officers monitored him before his breath test (assuming he blew), etc. would be relevant. Therefore, the real key and the best thing he can do is to be completely open and honest with his own attorney, as that will most enable his attorney to represent him.