Tag Archives: dui attorneys

DUI lawyer in hot water over controversial DUI checkpoint advice

I recently read about a DUI lawyer facing a little heat this year over some controversial advice he provided in Florida over DUI checkpoints.  In Florida, where DUI checkpoints are legal, this DUI lawyer blogged that motorists should put their license, registration, proof of insurance, and a flyer in a plastic baggie attached to the exterior of their vehicle and then roll up the driver’s window as they approach the checkpoint.  The flyer would state things such as, “I remain silent,” “no searches,” and “I want my lawyer.”

The thinking behind this idea is the law enforcement officer would see the flyer, perhaps review the license and registration and then waive the driver through the DUI checkpoint.  Because the flyer essential would state the driver is not going answer any questions, then arguably, the police officer shouldn’t ask the driver to exit absent any specific or articulable observations of impairment made by the police officer.

I personally think this idea might cause the opposite of what this DUI lawyer was thinking.  By employing this tactic, aren’t you drawing attention to yourself?  Let’s be honest here if a police officer wants to get someone out of their vehicle, it doesn’t take a whole lot.  Any little traffic infraction, any little possible sign of impairment, and the cop is just going to use that as an excuse to see what is really going on with the driver using this flyer tactic.  Even though under Florida law, something like this would be legal, it is my opinion that it would be stupid to do, especially if you have been drinking.  Unless you’re completely sober and you want to just mess with the police, I wouldn’t advise a driver would do this.

If you’re interested, here is the link to the article from the ABA journal where is saw it.

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About the author:  Matthew Leyba is the owner of Leyba Defense PLLC, the premier DUI law firm in Seattle.  Matthew has been repeatedly recognized as a Rising Star in the area of DUI defense by the Seattle Met Magazine.  Additionally, he was recently named a Top 40 under 40 criminal defense lawyer in Washington State.

Can hiring a good DUI Attorney ever backfire?

Recently I was in a local court in King County when I happened to catch the tail end of a heated conversation between a fellow Seattle DUI Attorney (who is well respected among defense attorneys) and a Prosecutor. Afterwards I was just shooting the bull with this particular Prosecutor when they told me something interesting. They told me everybody in their office dislikes that DUI Attorney and they will never give any of their clients a break because of it.

Now this got me thinking. Here is a DUI Attorney who has a very good reputation among the defense bar. However because of how that Attorney practices law and how they deal with Prosecutors all of that Attorney’s clients will suffer because of it. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances but that particular DUI Lawyer has nobody to blame but themselves.

So where does that leave their clients. They have no idea this particular DUI Defense Lawyer has pissed off an entire office and in the end they will suffer. So if you’re looking for a DUI lawyer how do you go about making sure the lawyer you hire will not backfire due to their reputation.

Personally I don’t know how a client would figure that out. Probably the easiest way to determine the relationship between a Prosecutor and a DUI Attorney is to flat out ask. Although I’m not sure a defense attorney would admit to having a strained relationship with a particular Prosecutor. So how do you find out.

The best way I could think of would be to look at two things: How many trials is the DUI Lawyer doing compared to the number of favorable plea deals they are getting. For example if you look at 10 cases and the DUI Attorney has gotten reduced charges on 7 or 8 and went to trial on the remaining that is a pretty good record. However if they go to trial on 7 or 8 and only gotten plea deals on 2 or 3. That should tell you something.

Now don’t get me wrong. If a DUI lawyer is going to trial 7 or 8 times out of 10. That is really commendable. That means the lawyer is not just pleading people guilty. However the question to ask is why are they going to trial so much, how come they can’t get their clients deals. Have they ruined their relationship with Prosecutors to the point they get “blacklisted?” In the case of the DUI Attorney I described above it sounds like that is whats happening to them and subsequently it is unfairly affecting their clients. And that’s a shame.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle. He has been repeatedly named a Rising Star in the field of DUI Defense by the Seattle Met Magazine, an honor only 2.5% of all Lawyers receive. Additionally he is rated a perfect 10 out of 10 by Avvo.com and listed as a Superb DUI Lawyer.

How to schedule an alcohol and drug evaluation in Seattle for a DUI

If you have been arrested for a DUI in Seattle or really anywhere in Washington State. Then probably the first thing you will want to do after you hire a DUI Lawyer is schedule your alcohol and drug evaluation. Here is how I recommend you go about doing that.

First speak with your DUI lawyer. Most DUI Attorneys including myself have a specific alcohol and drug evaluator we exclusively deal with. If your DUI Lawyer doesn’t have a specific evaluator then you probably hired the wrong person. But if they defend enough DUI cases and has the appropriate amount of experience in this area of law they will be able to point you in the right direction. For example the treatment agency I work with for my alcohol and drug evaluations are honest and I know they are not going to screw over my clients. Additionally I speak personally with the evaluator and we often times come up with a plan that makes sense for my client.

Secondly you probably want to find a place that only does the alcohol and drug evaluation not the treatment portion as well. Why? Well in my years of experience as a DUI Lawyer in Seattle many of the treatment places take advantage of individuals looking for an evaluation especially if they also do the treatment portion of the program. If you think about it this area is ripe to be taken advantage of financially. Let’s say you get a DUI. You decide to go to an alcohol and treatment agency for the DUI evaluation. The counselor says you have a problem and by they way you’re going to have to do 1 year worth of treatment and that will cost you $2500. And by the way you can do it here. I have seen this happen many times in my career and that is why I only work with specific places that do not do the treatment portion.

Lastly you will want to consider doing the evaluation in the County where your DUI case is, sometimes even the City. For example let’s say you get a DUI in King County or Seattle. The treatment agency I recommend does most of their evaluations in King County and specifically Seattle. So pretty much every Judge has heard of this place, they respect their work and will not question it. Why is this important? I have been in Court before and seen other defendants (not my clients) hand forward an evaluation for their DUI and the Judge has never heard of the place and they don’t accept it. Now not only is the defendant going to have to find a new place but they are out of the money they spent on the evaluation that got turned down. And they run the risk of going to a different treatment agency that makes a different finding in terms of treatment and they are stuck with it.

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About the author: Matthew Leyba is a DUI Lawyer in Seattle. He has been named a Super Lawyer Rising Star by the Seattle Met Magazine the area of DUI Defense, only 2.5% of all Lawyers in Washington State receive this honor. Additionally he is rated as a 10/10 and listed as a Superb DUI Lawyer by Avvo.com a national lawyer rating service.