Many people who get caught up in the criminal system are generally good people who make the occasional mistake. Numerous individuals are charged with a DUI despite not ever having driven drunk before. There can often be leniency when it comes to these cases, so it is beneficial to speak with a Winter Garden first-time DUI lawyer who can represent you.
Prosecutors will handle a first-time DUI charge by reviewing all of the evidence surrounding the traffic stop, including video evidence and police reports from law enforcement officers, disclosing all of that to the defense attorney. They will then review the case to determine if the driver is eligible for diversion or if they are going to seek a DUI conviction. A Winter Garden first-offense DUI attorney will talk with a defendant to determine what defense strategy they should use to fight the charge.
Judges near Winter Garden tend to be a little bit more lenient than some of the other counties surrounding the area, but they are bound by the DUI statute. The law makes it difficult for the judges to be too lenient if someone is convicted. If a jury finds that person guilty of DUI, or they enter a plea to DUI, the judges cannot give the person a lesser sentence than the mandatory minimum penalties. Despite that fact, most judges here are more lenient, and there are not too many first-time offenders who get sentenced to jail, but they are limited with how lenient they can be.
Every judge conducts their courtroom in their own way, so there are always exceptions. A first-time DUI lawyer cannot promise a defendant any particular result in Winter Garden, even if they know the judge well. Judges are generally lenient enough, unless the facts are egregious.
It is difficult to say how lenient juries are because juries do not hand down punishment; they just review the evidence and determine whether someone is guilty or not guilty. The greater Winter Garden region is fortunate to have a diverse citizen population, which means a more diverse jury pool, people from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different cultures, different races. Lawyers have more of a diverse opportunity to pick a fair and unbiased jury pool as opposed to some of the other counties in Central Florida.
If a person goes to trial and is found not guilty of DUI, they can further challenge the initial suspension of their license. But there is a problem: upon being arrested for a first time DUI, most people are willing to waive the challenge of that suspension in order to be guaranteed a hardship license. If acquitted of the DUI, they may also not be eligible to go back and challenge the initial suspension. Most people, even if acquitted of the criminal DUI, will still have to serve out that suspension because they have made an agreement with the DMV that they will accept this suspension in order to have a hardship license for the entire duration.
Judges will often go easy on you if this is your first time driving under the influence, assuming there were no other mitigating factors. But this is far from guaranteed, which is why you should team up with a Winter Garden first-time DUI lawyer. Place a call or fill out a contact form to one of our seasoned defense attorneys and explain your situation.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
