FELONY PROTECTION
PROTECT AGAINST FELONY ARRESTS!
Misdemeanor Defense Included, Felony Upgrade Available: Every one of our programs includes our Misdemeanor Protection Level which provides and ensures “no-fee” legal support for you during your misdemeanor DUI/DWI case. For added peace of mind, upgrade to our Felony Protection Program for just $4/month. This upgrade provides comprehensive legal services throughout a potential trial, should your case escalate to that following a felony arrest.
Fight Misdemeanor Charges with Confidence: Our Misdemeanor Protection Level guarantees that you will have an experienced and aggressive attorney by your side throughout your case. They’ll leverage all of their resources to achieve the best possible outcome – all at no cost to you for their outstanding legal services. Plus, if you are ever arrested for a felony, you will have peace of mind knowing that all misdemeanor legal services still will be provided at no charge with the remaining felony services provided at a reduced rate (33% off!).
Maximize Your Protection: All of our programs offer the strongest defense possible against misdemeanor arrests. In many situations this is enough as many cases can be resolved favorably prior to a trial. However, unforeseen circumstances such as accidents, high blood alcohol levels, or injuries to others can unexpectedly lead to felony charges and a trial. Don’t be caught off guard. Our Felony Protection Level ensures you have comprehensive legal support throughout the entire trial phase, should you face a more serious situation. This means you’ll have the legal resources you need, when you need them most. For just $4/month, secure the peace of mind of knowing you’re always fully protected. Upgrade to the Felony Protection Program today.
Summary Of Misdemeanor Legal Services
The police must have Reasonable Suspicion to believe a crime is being committed before they can stop a motor vehicle. This is the first point of attack on the State’s case. Your attorney will review the police report and then consult with you regarding the circumstances of the stop. There are many perfectly legal reasons why you might have been driving in an irregular manner and those reasons can be used to show that the officer did not have Reasonable Suspicion to stop you. Your attorney can then file a Motion to Suppress and everything that came from the stop can be thrown out along, possibly, with the case.
Likewise, the case against you will be attacked by your attorney on the grounds that after the stop, there was not Probable Cause to make the arrest. Simply put, there could be numerous good reasons why you acted and behaved the way you did during the stop none of which necessarily had to do with the consumption of alcohol. You attorney will explore all of these reasons and present them in an effort to get your case dismissed for Lack of Probable Cause.
While it will generally not be possible for your attorney to be present during an arrest, you will have the next best thing available to you; your Driver’s Rights Card. PrePaidDUI.com provides this card to all of our registrants should be carried with you at all times.
If and when you are ever pulled over, simply hand this card to the officer and say nothing else other than your name, address and date of birth; unless, per the other information contained in the DUI Prevention Kit, your situation indicates that you should tell the officer certain relevant information. You should familiarize yourself completely not only with the information contained in the kit, but with the contents of this card as well as it is a good summary of your rights.
There are three general rules that every driver should adhere to when facing a traffic stop:
Never volunteer any information to a police officer - it will be used against you 100% of the time.
Never take a roadside “Breath Test” unless you have had absolutely nothing to drink or required by state law.
Never under any circumstance resist arrest or attempt to flee from the police; it will never work out to your advantage – ever.
The “Booking Process” will take place either at a mobile facility or a jail facility and it is where the details your arrest will be written into an official report, your fingerprints will be taken, you will be photographed and chemical testing will be performed on you because you refused the breathalyzer.
You will be requested to take either a blood, breath or urine test to measure the amount of alcohol or other substances in your system. Do not refuse to take the test. If you do your refusal will be used against you in court and it will usually result in an automatic one-year license suspension through your state’s motor vehicle department. However, do request that a sample of be preserved for independent analysis. This request will be on your card as well.
The police routinely failure to follow proper procedure both before and after the chemical testing is performed. Your attorney knows what to look for and will find any flaws – no matter how small – in their procedure. Your attorney will then use any flaws that are found to have the results of the testing suppressed. Even if the mistakes are not sufficient for suppression, your attorney will couple those mistakes together with mistakes and inconsistencies during the stop and arrest to establish that the case against you is weak at best. This often results in a plea deal that is very much in your favor. A public defender would never do this for you.
Access to our service includes a DUI Prevention Kit that provides invaluable tips on how you can exploit many common mistakes the police make during the testing process and by following them, you will help your attorney help you to beat any possible charges.
Though state rules vary, generally within 24 to 48 hours of an arrest you will have an initial appearance or arraignment in front of a judge. The judge will either order further detention or set your release conditions. Typically, you will be held if there are any felony charges against you or released on your own recognizance for most misdemeanors. In some instances, you will not be released even for a misdemeanor. If you are not released, for any reason, you will be allowed to make at least one call. Call us at 1 (800) Home Free anytime 24/7 and we will go to work for you.
The first meeting you will have with your attorney is the initial consultation. The primary purposes of the consultation are to:
- Acquaint yourself with your attorney,
- Exchange relevant information regarding your case and
- Formalize the attorney/client relationship.
Most people do not have a lot of experience working with an attorney. Accordingly, it is a good practice to have a face-to-face meeting with your attorney early in the process so that you can acquaint yourself and become more comfortable with them. This will make going through the process and working together to achieve the best result in your matter all the easier. As with all of your misdemeanor legal services, there is no fee for your initial consultation and your attorney will be happy to meet with you at your convenience.
As your initial consultation will not be limited by time, you will have the opportunity to fully discuss every aspect of your case with your attorney as well as the defense options that are available to you. This opportunity is of high value to you as it is extremely important that you fully understand all the charges that are pending against you and the possible consequences you are facing before you make any decisions regarding your case.
When discussing the case, keep in mind that every DUI/DWI case is unique and so is yours. This makes the specific facts of your case very important; your attorney knows this. Accordingly, everything to do with your case, from the events of the day of your arrest, to the stop, to the arrest itself, to the booking and chemical testing will be gone over in detail. Only then will your attorney be able to discuss all possible defenses with you and develop potential defense strategies.
At the end of the initial consultation, if you are satisfied with your attorney, you will need to formalize the relationship with an agreement per your chosen protection package.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor, your attorney will appear in court so you don’t have to. As most DUI are misdemeanors, PrePaidDUI.com will save you the time and embarrassment of personally appearing in court. Your personal presence will be required for all felonies.
Your first hearing in a trial court will be your arraignment; you are there to hear and answer the criminal charges that have been brought against you and negotiate your bail or terms of release. It is very important to have an attorney with you at this point as the law presumes you are guilty of the charges for purposes of setting bail or the terms of release and if you have been charged with a felony; that is a bad thing. Your attorney will argue for release on your own recognizance or a lowered bail if that is not possible. This negotiation is sometimes done a few days later at a Bail Review Hearing. If you are unable to post bail you will be held in custody until at least the arraignment. But if you have Bail Call from PrePaidDUI.com we can help you with your bail and get you home as soon as possible.
During the arraignment, your attorney will obtain a copy of the complaint and later explain the charges to you. Your attorney will also use the arraignment as an opportunity get your case dismissed or negotiate a favorable plea bargain.
At the end of the arraignment your attorney will obtain a date for your next court appearance. If you have been charged with a misdemeanor, the next hearing will be a Pre-Trial Hearing. If there are any felony charges, it will be a Preliminary Hearing. In some instances the state will make an initial discovery production which involves turning over all the evidence they have against you at that time.
If you have been charged only with a misdemeanor this hearing will be a Pre-Trial Hearing. This hearing will give your attorney one more opportunity to settle the case favorably and avoid trial. If this cannot be done a date will be set for trial.
Some offenses can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. If you have been charged with one of these types of offenses your attorney will argue that it should be charged as a misdemeanor based on the facts of the case.
If you have been charged with a felony, you are entitled to a Preliminary Hearing before a judicial officer within 10 court days of arraignment. At this hearing you and your attorney will appear before the court, but without a jury present.
Your attorney will attempt to weed out weak or unmeritorious charges at the hearing by arguing that the evidentiary standard to charge you with the particular offenses has not been met. The standard is that there is a strong suspicion that a crime has been committed and that you are probably guilty. In many instances this standard cannot be met at the charges will be dismissed. If the standard is met, you will be “Held to Answer” or “Bound over” which means a trial date will be set.
Your attorney will obtain a date that gives him ample time for preparation.
The next appearance following the arraignment is the Disposition Conference. Sometimes called a “Settlement Conference” or a “Preliminary Hearing Setting Conference,” it is set before the Preliminary Hearing.
At this point is should be obvious that in any criminal prosecution there are numerous hearing that must be attended by your attorney. With PrePaidDUI.com you will be relieved of the obligation to attend many of these time consuming hearings as your attorney can and will appear for you. Some hearings however, like this one, are beneficial for you to attend as it is one of primary times when a case is resolved. In fact, the purpose of the hearing is to see if the case can be disposed of in short order; hence the name.
Your attorney will attend this hearing and attempt to resolve the case in your favor through a plea bargain. Even if jail time is on the table with more severe charges, your attorney will work to persuade the court to convert it to an available weekend work program or something similar. There are many options other than jail. If that cannot be done and there are felony charges pending, your attorney will attempt to get the charges reclassify from felony to misdemeanor. This is just something that you cannot do on your own and yet another reason you need PrePaidDUI.com and our experienced and aggressive attorneys.
At the end of the conference, your attorney will request discovery from the prosecution if it has not already been provided at the arraignment. Discovery is the evidence, in any form, that is in possession of the State which as has to do with your case.
Summary Of Felony Legal Services
If the felony charges are not dropped at the Preliminary Hearing, the case will be transferred to the trial division and in most cases the prosecutor will file a new document that is called an "Information." Based on this document, you will be arraigned for a second time in superior court. This will be the court where your trial will later be held.
Your attorney will attend this hearing with you and you again will enter a plea. If the plea is "not guilty," the case will be set for trial. At this time, a date for a Settlement Conference will also be set.
There are several other important tasks your attorney will perform at the trial court arraignment. Your attorney will file a motion challenging the court’s holding order. The trial judge will then review the transcript of the Preliminary Hearing to see if there was sufficient evidence to support the holding order. If there was, the motion is denied, and the case proceeds to trial. If not, the motion is granted and the Information will be dismissed in whole or in part. If in whole, your case will be over.
Also at the arraignment, your attorney will solicit a "deal" from the prosecutor to resolve the case without a trial. If you accept the offered deal, your attorney will get sentencing report which will include a sentencing recommendation. If the recommendation is agreeable to all, your case will be resolved at the next hearing.
The last task your attorney will undertake involved discovery. If there is any evidence the State has failed to disclose, your attorney will file the appropriate motions and demand further production.
At this phase in both misdemeanor and felony cases, you will have a Pre-Trial Hearing. In a felony case you would likely have a Settlement Conference prior to this hearing. This conference is generally conducted in front of a volunteer who attempts to settle the case. You attorney will attend this conference with you in order to secure a favorable resolution to your matter.
Sometimes called a Readiness Hearing, the purpose of the Pre-Trial Hearing is to see if your case can settle and, if not, to determine if all parties are “ready” to proceed to trial.
Your attorney and the prosecutor will discuss all remaining issues that are pertinent to your case being ready for trial. The prosecutor will provide witness a list, disclose what documentary and physical evidence the State plans to introduce and turn over all discovery that was not previously exchanged. You attorney will review this information and determine if more time is needed. If so, you attorney will request that another Pre-Trial Hearing be set in your matter at a future date.
At any future Pre-Trial Hearing and prior to trial, your attorney will work to resolve the case.
A motion is a procedural devise to bring a limited, contested issue before the court for decision. In simplistic terms, a motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision regarding the case. Pre-Trial Motions are tools that will be used by your attorney in an effort to set the boundaries for trial.
Your attorney will file all appropriate motions to challenge and limit what physical evidence and testimony can be presented or introduced by the prosecutor, what legal arguments can and cannot be made and even arguing that there is no reason that you should be forced to stand trial.
Your attorney will also present any remaining suppression motions arguing against the constitutionality of the stop, search and arrest and that the police did not have a warrant and otherwise lacked probable cause for the stop, search and arrest. Once these motions are decided upon by the court. The trial will proceed.
Your attorney will prepare for trial and prepare you to be a witness in your case in the event it becomes necessary. Your attorney will marshal all the evidence and witness necessary for your best defense and consult with you all along the way. There is not set time limit for a case and your attorney will be there for you no matter how long it takes. At any point in a trial the case can be settled and your attorney will attempt to do just that if the facts of the case favor settlement. You are always free to make the final decision in your case.
If you obtain an acquittal your case will be over. If not, you will have to return for Sentencing.
After a conviction or guilty plea, a judge will decide on the appropriate punishment during the sentencing phase of the case. Sentencing usually takes place immediately after conviction in cases involving infractions and most misdemeanors, or when a guilty plea has been entered. In felony cases and some misdemeanors cases, the sentencing judge will receive input from your attorney, the prosecutor, and the probation department; which will prepare a recommendation in a "Pre-Sentence Report."
Your attorney will never allow you to plead guilty without first negotiating an acceptable Plea Bargain with the prosecutor. In all cases, both misdemeanor and felony, your attorney will argue for informal probation in lieu of formal probation as part of the Plea Bargain. And, if a conviction has been obtained after a trial, your attorney will do the same prior to sentencing.
If informal probation is granted, this means that the court will suspend imposition of the statutory sentence which usually includes incarceration and, instead, conditionally release you upon specified conditions geared to rehabilitate and reform. These terms of probation will be negotiated by your attorney and the prosecutor. This type of probation is the preferred of the two as it is supervised by the court and is much less burdensome than formal probation which is supervised by the county probation department and has many more conditions.
As sentencing for misdemeanors and for felonies is different and complicated, it will always be important for you to have an experienced attorney with you to help in obtaining the minimum punishment available under the law. With PrePaidDUI.com, you will always have that advantage.
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