Great Virginia DUI defense takes work, starting from the moments you lift that glass and encounter a cop

Great Virginia DUI defense– and all effective criminal defense — starts with you, the defendant. As a Fairfax DWI lawyer, I know that such successful defense starts with your behavior and perceived behavior; whom you associate with and where; your past criminal record; and countering police profiling that is grounded in race, and conclusions about your socioeconomic background, education, socialization, and attitudes about the criminal law and law enforcement. Obtaining the best possible results in court is not about kowtowing to anyone — which involves subservience, let alone an uneven relationship with others — but is about fighting tooth and nail to reverse the potentially devastating tides from this and any prosecution. Yes, this can all be done while being pleasant about it, so long as your lawyer has a proverbial well-sharpened sword with him or her when that becomes needed, and the lawyer better know how to use this and all other weapons. In that regard, nothing beats the real-world experience of going to trial again and again until doing so is as natural as breathing, just as no major league baseball team is going to hire someone who has only watched baseball videos but never played a game.

Great Virginia DUI defense is helped by never raising the glass in the first place or by not getting behind the wheel soon after

Consuming alcohol is enjoyable, as I know from my past experience enjoying great beers, tequila, and cognac, plus kamikaze shots with beer chasers. Your great Virginia DUI defense against a prosecution under Va. Code § 18.2-266 starts with not sipping in the first place if you are going to drive thereafter, or not driving for a long time after sipping. Take your pick. If a police officer stops your car when you are stone sober as to alcohol and drugs, the only thing better than that is not being stopped at all.

Even if police do not tell me, do I have the right to refuse conversations with police, searches, field testing, and roadside breath testing?

Some of the most effective police interrogators start loosening the suspect’s tongue by talking about things seemingly unrelated to the initial police stop, including questions about the suspect’s car, his or her true pride and joy. Great Virginia DUI defense means applying proverbial krazy glue to your lips so that not a word passes them until you get asked booking questions (limiting your answers to biographical answers that have nothing to do with the investigation and arrest). Contrary to popular belief, police generally do not have to advise of your right to remain silent until you are in custody beyond many minutes of questioning and field testing for DWI investigations. Police do not need to tell you of your absolute right to refuse all field tests (including but not limited to the walking the line / walk-and-turn test, the one leg stand, horizontal gaze nystagmus / eye exam, counting backwards, reciting an alphabet snippet, finger dexterity test, and finger to nose test.) Nor do police in Virginia have to tell you the adverse consequences risked by declining post-arrest blood and breath testing in DWI cases. The best time to know your rights is long before any potential police encounter, starting with carefully reviewing my Fairfax DUI lawyer article and video on asserting your rights.

Why should I be diplomatic in dealing with law enforcement officers?

Diplomacy is not kowtowing when it comes to great Virginia DUI defense. Silence is not dishonesty. Declining field testing is not obstruction of justice. The first of each of these foregoing pairs is the way to go in dealing with police. Besides, doing the opposite can not only be harmful in and of itself, but can strengthen the prosecutor’s case against you to try to make you sound more influenced by alcohol than you actually were. Diplomatic ways to say no to the police include: “No thank you.” “I decline to answer any questions.” “Am I free to leave?” Some of the more experienced police will be particularly adept at responding in an intimidating and even condescending fashion to each of your even diplomatic statements. You can best weather the storm of the police investigation and arrest, and any subsequent prosecution by sticking to silence with police — other than to identify yourself where required — and by declining searches and refusing field testing. This is no checkers game. This is beyond chess. This is proverbial gladiator fighting, which brings us to the next paragraph, of choosing your lawyer.

Your lawyer better not bring only a proverbial machete to a gun fight

Your court date is not the place for the faint of heart, nor for your lawyer to get on-the-job training on your money, just as you’re not going to get your haircut at a barbering school unless your wallet is light. Choosing the right lawyer for great Virginia DUI defense includes inquiring about your lawyer’s knowledge of the relevant law and science, devotion to pursuing the best possible court result for you, and proverbial battle scars from going to trial again and again when the defendant does not achieve a desired negotiated plea / settlement in the case. Your DWI defense lawyer needs both a proverbial machete for close distance courtroom and trial combat, and a proverbial machine gun when the fighting gets more risky and lethal than that. Any lawyers who cringe about military and street fighting ways of conceiving of courthouse victory can be shortchanging their client.

Enable your lawyer to unleash his or her full firepower

Once you hire the right lawyer for your great Virginia DUI defense, so long as you continue to have faith in your lawyer, you are wise to not dampen your attorney’s firepower by seeking to micromanage and ask about every little detail of the case and your defense. Yes, you have legitimate concerns and fears. At the same time, the more you let your lawyer do his or her job — just as you rely on your surgeon while you are under general anesthetic — the more you will benefit from your attorney’s firepower. A good attorney will welcome your questions, insight, wisdom and unique recollection and input. A great lawyer-client team will relish that teamwork and unleash it into a powerhouse of good for your case.

Fight like hell. Do not play dead nor throw in the towel.

The police and prosecutor have scheduled this courthouse fight, and it is your job to join with your attorney in fighting for yourself like you have never done before in the pursuit of great Virginia DUI defense. You will thank yourself for doing that.

How do I find the right Virginia DUI lawyer? Start by scheduling an appointment with battle-tested Fairfax DWI lawyer Jon Katz:

Fairfax DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz has the battle scars to show for his success in defending hundreds of Virginia DWI clients and thousands of felony and misdemeanor defendants over the course of decades. When you meet with Jon Katz, you are destined to learn defenses and perspectives that you never knew about. Find out for yourself through a free in-person confidential consultation with Jon about your court-pending criminal case, scheduled by calling 703-383-1100.