Petoskey, MI Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

You must answer the charges or risk having a bench warrant issued for your arrest. If the facts are as you state, you should not be charged. You should hire a lawyer.

In North Carolina this would be called contributory negligence which would bar recovery of any amount. When fights occur after drinking jurors commonly don't award damages. A judge once told my client that when you go to sleep with the dogs you expect to wake up with fleas.

You'll learn the actual charge[s] filed and any enhancements, priors, or violations alleged, and get copies of all the police reports and prosecutors? evidence when appearing for arraignment at the first court hearing. The charges actually filed by the prosecutor will determine how much 'time' could potentially be imposed. The DUI is likely to be charged as a felony with damage, and then 'enhanced' because of prior DUIs. In California, if convicted of any felony, you potentially face one or more years in prison, plus fines; on any misdemeanor, you potentially face up to 12 months in jail, plus fines. Priors and strikes will add 'penalty'enhancements. If this constitutes a probation violation, factor those new violation charge[s] and old deferred sentence[s] in as well. No amount of free 'tips and hints' from here or elsewhere are going to effectively help in a legal defense. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney who does, who will try to get a dismissal, charge reduction, diversion, programs, or other decent outcome through motions, plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate. If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if the charges are in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me. I'll be happy to help fight this and get the best outcome possible, using whatever defenses there may be.