The US Constitution might guarantee every citizen the right to an attorney, which essentially means that you get a lawyer for free in every criminal case. But, the Los Angeles criminal justice system isn’t as forgiving as the US constitution, as many drivers charged with DUI don’t qualify for a free lawyer.
It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are if you’ve been charged with a DUI in Los Angeles, then it’s in your best interest to consult the best DUI attorney as a common DUI charge could become a lot of trouble if dealt lightly.
Why should you hire a DUI lawyer instead of seeking for a free attorney?
· You might not qualify for a free lawyer in the first place
· You might not know if the lawyer is free or paid
· A private DUI lawyer might get you better results
Not qualifying for a few DUI lawyer
The free lawyer which you have a right to is commonly known as a public defender. They’re administered by the office of Los Angeles County Public Defender.
Their job is to provide superior legal representations of all people who’ve been accused of criminal delinquency but are currently unable to afford a private defense counsel.
Unfortunately, the Public Defender’s Office has its own definition of what it means to be “unable to afford” a lawyer. There are unemployed individuals, single moms, and people struggling to work more than one job, who wouldn’t qualify for a free public defender. And to make matters worse, there is no pre-defined income level that regulates whether you meet the requirements or not. You can’t really know unless you apply.
There are several factors which a Public Defender’s office might look upon when deciding if you qualify or not
· Your debt, if any
· Your income
· Your assets on paper
· You are the only breadwinner of your family
Most often, the decision of whether you qualify for a free lawyer comes down to a more straightforward criterion: can you afford to pay bail? If yes, then it might be assumed that you have enough money to hire your attorney. This leaves most low-income defendants with a tough decision: do they want to spend months in jail just to qualify for a free attorney?
Not knowing if the DUI lawyer is free or paid
Let’s say that you request the help of the Public Defenders office; they will first review your income and assets and then tell you that they’ll represent you. Does that mean you’re getting a free lawyer? Not necessarily.
Once your case if over, whether you win or lose, the related judge might conduct a separate hearing to see if you are able to pay for the legal services that were provided. The decision might say that you have to pay for the entire bill or part of it, which means that you could end up paying for your free DUI attorney.
A private DUI lawyer might get you better results
Two primary factors decide how much a lawyer can help you.
· How experienced they are
· How much time they can spend on your case
Most public defenders are at a huge disadvantage in both areas. The legal work takes a lot of time, and it involves careful research not only on the evidence in your case but also on the case, law, and previous similar court decisions. This research is what makes top DUI lawyers different from public defenders because they don’t have the time for such intensive research as there are tons of different cases lying around that they need to look into. Public defenders are capable lawyers, but they’re limited by a lack of resources.
Experience is also an issue for most public defenders. By necessity, a typical public defender has to be a generalist. They may work on a domestic abuse case one day and on a DUI case the next day. They simply don’t have the particular experience of working one DUI case after another and experiencing all the strategies that work. This could have an impact on how well they can defend you.
DUI is a common charge that most people go through, but not having the right DUI could make a typical DUI case into a nightmare, if you are in need of DUI lawyer, then you’ve come to the right place, our seasoned DUI lawyers have years of experience in dealing various kind of DUI cases.