Drink Driving Lawyer NSW v DUI Self Representation: In this “NSW DUI Court Bible” article we explore the benefits getting a drink driving lawyer compared to representing yourself on a DUI charge. We also look at which charges and situations you definitively need a lawyer for a certain charges and situations where offenders successfully represent themselves everyday.
To Get A Lawyer or To Not Get A Lawyer?
It is well know that drink driving offences are the most common criminal offences that come before the Courts every single day in New South Wales. For someone who is a lay person and is not completely familiar with how the Court system works, then often the process can be quite daunting.
If you have been charged with a drink driving offence then you will find yourself in a position where you will need to attend court and face the music for that offence.
The next question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you require a lawyer to represent you in Court or whether or not you can represent yourself on a drink driving charge.
Throughout this article we will look at the different aspects of obtaining a lawyer or representing yourself for a drink driving matter in a New South Wales local court. We will explore all of the pros and cons of obtaining a lawyer and all of the pros and cons of representing yourself in Court.
By the end of this article should be in a far better position and be more informed to decide whether or not you require a lawyer or whether you think you are capable of representing yourself. You still may need to do some research and with this in mind there are many good online resources, articles and papers on drink driving offences in New South Wales.
Of course we also have the NSW DUI Court Bible which is probably the best online resource for drink driving charges in New South Wales.
At the end of the day the decision will be up to you and we hope you have enough information and understanding to make the right decision.
What charges you should get a lawyer for without question?
There are certain types of drink driving charges where it is highly recommended that an offender obtains the services of a quality traffic lawyer.
Certainly where there is the likelihood that the offender may face time in jail for the offences that they had been charged with then it is crucial that you obtain the advice and representation professional traffic lawyer that deals with these matters every single day in Court.
Risking your freedom by saving a few thousand dollars by engaging a good traffic lawyer is simply not an option.
Generally speaking the types of offences where you should seriously give some consideration to engaging a traffic lawyer are the kind of offences which also involve specific aggravating features which may include an accident, damage to property, injury or death which came about as a result of the drink-driving incident.
Other aggravating features can include additional charges such a speeding, driving erratically, driving with other people in the car, driving during peak hour or in live school traffic zones, driving without a licence, driving an unregistered and an uninsured vehicle and any other issues or features surrounding the incident which heightened the risk of damage or injury to your self or other people within the community.
Certainly some aggravating features are far more serious than others. But each drink driving matter will need to be determined on its own facts in deciding what aggravating features exist and how serious they are.
If the blood alcohol reading is far in excess of the 0.150 limit then the higher the blood alcohol reading the more serious the aggravating feature it is. An offender who is far in excess of the 0.150 high range limit should consider getting legal representation or at very best some legal advice.
Also if you are in a position where this is not your first drink driving offence especially if you have other drink driving offences with in the last five years or if you are deemed a habitual offender then you run the risk of receiving jail time and again legal advice and/or legal representation should be sought.
At the end of the day if you are really unsure about what will happen to you at Court then perhaps you should seek out some legal advice or alternatively you can do more research and find out more about the offences that you have been charged with and the situation that you find yourself in.
Certainly if you are unsure about the offences that you’ve been charged with and your situation then a great starting point can be to find out more by getting access to the NSW DUI Court Bible.
Once you gain access to the NSW DUI Court Bible you will be able to assess your situation and if you find that your situation is so serious that you really do need the representation of a quality Drink Driving Lawyer then you can take that next step in helping you through the process.
What charges you can represent yourself in Court for?
Since the majority of drink driving charges that come before the Courts are of a relatively standard nature it can be pretty easy to represent yourself and still get the same results that a traffic lawyer could get if you engaged their services.
The reason being is because in New South Wales the law says that the Courts need to abide by certain legislative disqualification thresholds in which to apply to certain categories of drink driving offences.
For example for a low range PCA charge the minimum disqualification period is three (3) months and the automatic disqualification period is six (6) months.
With a middle range PCA charge the minimum disqualification period is six (6) months and the automatic disqualification period is twelve (12) months.
The high range PCA charge the minimum disqualification period is twelve (12) months and the automatic disqualification period is three (3) years.
So what this basically means is that for a standard type of drink driving offence you can do your own research then put in place a well prepared case. By doing this you will place yourself in the best position to obtaining a more favourable result and certainly this including receiving a reduced period if disqualification.
The trick in successfully representing yourself on a drink driving charge is to be well prepared, take the right steps, have the right attitude and present your case confidently to the Court.
A standard type of drink driving charge will generally involved the following characteristics:
- Very minor or no aggravating features.
- Pulled over for Random Breath Test (RBT) or pulled over for any other reason besides committing other traffic offences.
- No injuries.
- No car accident, collision or damage caused.
- First offence.
- If prior offence exists – then situation is less serious if it was more than five (5) years ago.
If you choose to represent yourself then you effectively take the place of a lawyer and an offender. If you handle the process correctly, prepare your case and present it properly then a self-represented offender for a drink driving charge can have a good chance of obtaining a favourable decision.
Successfully representing yourself will involve you researching and becoming aware of a number of things including:
- Charges & likely penalties.
- Attitude of the Courts and Magistrate in respect of your charge.
- Issues surrounding mitigation.
- Properly tendering well drafted character references.
- Knowing what options are available to offenders in respect of penalties.
- Rehabilitation options.
- Traffic education courses.
The NSW DUI Court Bible will take you through a step by step guide to show you exactly how to best represent yourself on a drink driving charge in a NSW local Court.
Representing yourself in Court can be extremely cost effective, rewarding and finish with you obtaining a very similar result to that of traffic lawyer.
Costs
There are many things that can be said about the costs involved in obtaining the services of a quality legal practitioner.
First and foremost, as we have already mentioned, if you have serious charges laid against you where there is a real possibility that you could be serving time in jail then it is always highly recommended that you obtain quality legal representation from a lawyer who is very competent at dealing with traffic law matters in the local courts in New South Wales.
To put it bluntly you should not stuff around with your freedom.
There are generally many different choices of lawyers that you can select from in your local area in New South Wales. Some lawyers will be cheaper than other lawyers but at the end of the day if you do decide to go with a lawyer you need to balance up between the cost of the lawyer and the competency of the lawyer. There is no point in engaging a lawyer who is cheaper than other lawyers but are not well versed in area of traffic law. You would be far better off in the long run by engaging a lawyer who may cost a little bit more but who has good track record in the area of criminal or traffic law and dealing with matters in the local courts in New South Wales.
Generally speaking a cheap traffic lawyer will charge you around the $1000 mark whereas an expensive traffic lawyer could charge you up to $4000 for pleading guilty on a charge and mitigating circumstances surrounding the offence. Certainly if you are deciding to plead not guilty to drink driving charge and you intend to run a defended hearing in court this is when legal expenses can get very costly as there is far more work, more time, more effort and more consideration from a technical legal point of view involved in running a full defended Court hearing.
It may come as no surprise to you that engaging a good traffic lawyer can be quite costly. Therefore you really do need to sit down and make an executive decision as to whether or not you really do require a lawyer and whether those needs for a lawyer outweigh the large expenses required to hire a lawyer to help you through your drink driving charge.
Of course the benefits of representing yourself are that there are no expensive DUI legal costs involved. So if you have had a look at your charges and the situation you find yourself in and you believe that your drink driving charge is one of a relatively standard nature then you may be able to save yourself a lot of money by doing a little bit of your own research and representing yourself. With the right research and information it can be quite easy.
Often we see drink driving offenders in Court representing themselves, and it is the self represented offenders who know what they are doing and have done some preparation on their own before they get to court that often obtain the same if not very similar results to those offenders who have outlaid large amounts of money to hire legal representation.
Final words
At the end of the day the decision will be up to you to make an informed decision as to whether or not you really do think that you require the services of a good quality traffic lawyer.
As we have discussed if you do decide to choose to go with a lawyer then you need to still give it some thought, and you really need to choose a good quality traffic or criminal lawyer who does drink driving matters in Court on a daily basis. There is no point in choosing a friend of a friends lawyer who practices in commercial law or property law or some other type of law who is not well versed in the area of traffic or criminal law matters in New South Wales.
Furthermore, and as we have already discussed, if you do decide to go with a lawyer you should not just go with the cheapest lawyer out there because of the fact that they are cheap instead you really need to look around and decide which lawyers are going to be right for your specific drink driving matter.
Especially if you are at risk of doing jail time then you really need to put all your eggs in one basket and go for broke by getting the best traffic lawyer you can around. If jail time is likely then you may even wish to obtain the services of a criminal law barrister, this can be even more costly, but what is your freedom worth to you.
However, if your situation is not as serious as this and jail time is very unlikely then there are many resources out there that can give you the information and knowledge about how to represent yourself in Court and still get a very good result.
You can go to Court any day of the week and see self represented offenders getting exactly the same results for certain types of standard drink driving matters as the other offenders were represented by lawyers. Of course the main benefit of self representation is the saving of huge amounts of money that you would usually outlay on an expensive lawyer. Furthermore since you are the one who will be under the spotlight for your own matter you are the one who will be able to put a great amount of time and effort in carefully preparing your case. By representing yourself you will not have the problem of putting your life in someone else’s hands and then being treated like another case number on the desk in their law office.
Obviously we recommend the NSW DUI Court Bible, it is the best online drink driving resource in New South Wales and it is certainly a resource which can help you through the step-by-step process of representing yourself on a drink driving matter in a New South Wales Local Court.
It provides users with all the right information, knowledge, resources, tips, tricks, Court submission guides and examples, character reference guides and examples, details of traffic offender programs and just generally how to prepare a case and confidently present that case to the Court just like traffic and criminal lawyers do for their own clients.
Whether or not you decide to represent yourself or obtain the services of a traffic lawyer the NSW DUI Court Bible is certainly a resource that can help you in either situation. If you decide to represent yourself then it will be an invaluable resource to help you through that process. However, if you decide to hire a quality traffic lawyer then the NSW DUI Court Bible will still be a very valuable reference guide to understand exactly what your lawyer is doing and to make sure that your lawyer is doing everything that they should be doing in relation to a traffic law matter and drink driving charge in the local court in New South Wales.
Benefits of a Drink Driving Lawyer?
- Know how to handle really serious matters that potentially carry jail time.
- Can speak on your behalf and know what to say to the Court.
- Can advise you on what offender programs you should take part in.
- Advise you on the best way to prepare character references.
- Advise you of the Court Process.
- Advise you on what the expected outcome will be.
Benefits of self-representation?
- Major benefit is the costs you will save (generally thousands of dollars).
- You can put as much care and effort into your own matter (rather than just being another DUI matter amongst many others on the desk of your lawyer).
- Knowing you case better than anyone else.
- Building your confidence.
- Learning about the Court system and the laws.
- Getting the same Court results as you would get with an expensive lawyer (if you do the right things and prepare the right case).
So now that the pros and cons, as to whether or not you should get a lawyer to represent you on a drink driving charge, have all been laid down on the table the ball is now in your Court to make an informed decision on the situation that you find yourself in and whether the benefits of self-representation far outweigh engaging a lawyer, or vice versa.
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