3 Steps to Take Following a DUI Charge in Salisbury

If you have been pulled over and charged with driving under the influence in Maryland, the following are some preliminary steps you can take to help both your attorney and yourself in court. To learn more or to begin preparing your defense, call and schedule your free consultation with a Salisbury DUI lawyer today.

Step 1: Get a Copy of Your Driving Record

The first thing that a person charged with a DUI in Salisbury can do is get a copy of their driving record. An attorney will want to see exactly what their current record looks like as it can have an impact on the case. Only after a lawyer has seen the defendant’s record can they properly advise the client on what steps to take, including whether or not they have a prior conviction and are potentially facing subsequent offender penalties.

Step 2: Get An Alcohol Evaluation

For clients who are early on in the process it is often a good idea to get an evaluation to see if alcohol counseling is recommended for them.

In some cases people may be taken surprise by this and may be initially offended or concerned that their attorney is making that suggestion. However, the reason this is so important is that it should be left up to a professional or someone with training to experience to determine whether or not the client has a problem and needs to be in counseling. Furthermore, if the defendant does need to be in counseling a professional should determine what level of counseling is needed. It is important to know if the person might benefit from a short, alcohol-education class or they really would benefit from in-patient, alcohol treatment.

That sort of decision or determination should be left to a professional. It is not something that and attorney should.  It is to their benefit to have someone in that field of knowledge make that decision for them and it shows that they are taking this charge seriously and taking steps to help their situation.

Step 3: Get Treatment

Many of the judges in Salisbury and other locations in Maryland are going to expect for the defendant to take initiative to get themselves into some kind of treatment. It can be beneficial in court if the individual has already put themselves in treatment, because their period of probation may be shorter if they have already started or perhaps even completed classes.

There are some judges who will give a defendant an unsupervised Probation Before Judgment if they have already started or completed classes. So it is really only to the client’s benefit to have them meet a professional, get the evaluation done, and start whatever classes are recommended.