What to Expect in Howard County DUID Court

If a person is going to court for a DUID citation, their case will first appear in the district court. In the district court, a person has the right to a trial on the date they go. They will appear in court before the judge, the state’s attorney, and any officers involved in the stop or the chemist portion of blood or breath testing, who are there to testify. At this point, a Howard County DUI drug lawyer has the right to cross-examine all of the state’s witness, just as they would have the opportunity to cross-examine the defense’s witnesses.

Additionally, since some DUID charges carry charges carry greater than 90 days of possible jail time, the defendant also has the right to do what is called pray to jury trial, which would take the matter from the district court and have it transferred to circuit court where they could have a trial in front of just a judge or in front of a jury.

Due to the many factors that play a role in DUID cases, it is very important to contact a lawyer who can not only help build a strong defense, but can also advise the defendant on what to expect in Howard County DUID court and what the best steps to take are.

Defense Strategies

An attorney can pick apart the case and the officer’s testimony in a way that can raise doubt about the officer’s probable cause to pull over a vehicle. They can examine if there was substantive enough reason to pull the vehicle over, and if what the vehicle was doing was truly illegal. They can also investigate how the officer observed the vehicle’s speed if they claim it was speeding. For example, the lawyer can question if the officer used a laser or radar device or if they paced, and if they did that all properly.

An attorney wants all of the information regarding the entire first contact of observing the defendant’s vehicle for the DUID stop. This includes if the vehicle was stopped, parked, and in a parking spot in the lines of a parking spot, but the officer says that it was slightly crooked. The attorney can question what about that was illegal since the officer needs to have probable cause, and, without probable cause, everything that happened afterward should not have happened, therefore ruling out that evidence.

Furthermore, if a person was pulled over for speeding and they submitted to the field sobriety tests, the attorney can investigate if those tests were done correctly, if they were administered correctly, and if the scores were good, in which case the person should have only received a speeding ticket if they were speeding.

Every bit of this is so important because if anything was not done correctly or if anything is even slightly off, it can be argued.

Contacting an Attorney

It is very important for a person facing DUID charges in Howard County to contact an attorney immediately. An attorney can talk with a person about how to prepare and how to proceed. Contacting an attorney right away allows them to gather as much information as possible as early as possible so that when the state provides the discovery, which is all of the evidence they would seek to enter into a case, an attorney can discuss the accuracy of all that information.

An attorney can ultimately tell a person what to expect in Howard County DUID court. They can tell a person how to be prepared for a case that they may enter a plea, and they may also help the person get into an alcohol or drug assessment, get them into any substance classes, and get them in the position to be successful.