Common Issues to Consider
When choosing a Criminal Defense attorney, consider the following issues:
After you are arrested, do NOT delay finding an attorney due to the sensitive nature of court deadlines and important timing issues necessary to having effective representation.
Interview at least three attorneys. Select the attorney with whom you feel most comfortable.
As soon as you are arrested, such as for a DUI, it may be a good idea to create a timeline and document what you remember about your arrest. Include every detail regardless of whether you think it is unimportant. Whomever you retain, your attorney will need the facts related to your arrest while the incident is still fresh in your memory.
After you are arrested, if you are able to do so, obtaining a copy of your police report is helpful for you to review the actual report compared to what you remember happening at the time of your arrest.
If you live out of state, and have an out of state driver's license, and you have recently been arrested for a DUI, then you may have issues in both South Carolina and that state with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in each state sharing information from your arrest regarding your driver's license suspension.
Remember, when you have been charged with a DUI, you are facing two tracks in two different courts: criminal charges regarding the DUI and administrative charges regarding your drivers license.