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How Does An Attorney Use Their Time on a Criminal Case?
The problem isn’t with attorneys wasting time on a case; it’s more common for clients to waste it. Clients often ask the same question over and over, even if the attorney has answered it and explained the same thing multiple times. Obviously there is a learning curve; clients don’t know the process or the laws and aren’t likely to memorize anything the first time they hear it, but we do have to explain a lot of thing over and again, plus we have to deal with the courts and the prosecutor, so you’ll definitely pay for an attorney’s time, but there is a lot to do.
Can a Competent Lawyer Actually Save You Money In The Long Run?
The reason most attorneys don’t take civil speeding tickets is because they’re hard to win and they take at least 1-2 hours, which means about $250-$500, and even then, you’ll probably get the same result, which is attendance at a defensive driving school, which costs them $180. So hiring an attorney for that would be a waste of money.
However, in criminal cases, that changes. Take a criminal speeding charge; if you just go ahead and pay the $366 fine the prosecutor wants you to pay, you will also have a criminal conviction on your record and 8 points against your driver’s license, which means even a minor infraction could get you a license suspension.
However, if you have an attorney go in there to represent you, you may spend a little more money, but you won’t have a criminal record, which is important and you won’t find yourself on the verge of a license suspension. Not only that, but you will also save some money on defensive driving courses. In some sometimes people have an extreme DUI and an attorney may be able to negotiate it down to a regular DUI, meaning less jail time and a smaller fine.
In many cases, even though an attorney costs money, people save money in the long run. An extreme DUI can cost as much as $4,000, so if hiring an attorney means you only pay about $2,000 in fines and fees, you have saved a lot more than it cost you.
What Does It Mean If An Attorney Guarantees Me Victory in a Criminal Case?
Any attorney that guarantees a win is lying to you; they can even be disbarred. No attorney can guarantee anything; it’s even written in the retainer agreement that you may have signed without reading and understanding it. No one can predict what a court or a prosecutor will do; experienced attorneys have a good idea, but there is no way to know, exactly.
Even if an attorney believes a traffic stop is clearly unconstitutional and can’t see a reason it shouldn’t be dismissed, prosecutors still sometimes decide to go forward on case with a 0.02 or a 0.06 BAC, so no one can predict or guarantee anything.
For more information on Utilization of Attorney’s Time in a Criminal Case, please call (480) 442-8343 today to schedule a free initial consultation. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.