If you are trying to win your
South Carolina DUI the first thing you must do is to educate yourself about the law and court
procedure for your case.
South Carolina has a unique law on DUI compared to other states. Because
of this much of the information you might read on other websites, especially
on lawyer's websites from other states, will not apply to your case.
First off you need to know that DUI is the only criminal offense in South
Carolina with technical defenses. What this means is that if the officer
failed to follow the correct procedures in conducting the DUI field investigation
then your case will be dismissed. This is regardless of any other evidence
in your case. This part of our law is important, because so much of the
basis of a DUI arrest is the officer's opinions that we hold them
to as high of an objective standard as possible.
You
cannot know whether or not the officer has complied with the law at the time of your
arrest or even if your case goes to
traffic court. The only way to learn is to file discovery motions with the Court and
legally serve them on the officer.
As a DUI Defense Lawyer the first step I take in investigating any arrest
is to verify whether or not the officer has followed the law himself in
making the DUI arrest. If not I will ask the Court to dismiss my client's
DUI case. Many DUI arrests are ultimately dismissed by South Carolina
Courts for failure to follow the correct procedures.
After looking to see if the police followed the law the next step is to
determine what evidence they think they have to establish guilt of DUI.
We have a "materially and appreciably impaired" standard for
DUI cases. This means that everything can be factored in by the Court
in determining the verdict at trial.
The first step for anyone trying to win their South Carolina DUI case
is to work as hard as they can educate themselves about our law. This
is best done by working closely with your DUI Defense Attorney to explore
all possibilities for your case.
Defense Attorney James Snell of Lexington, South Carolina, represents
clients in DUI cases throughout South Carolina. If you have been arrested
for driving under the influence you are eligible to meet with him for
a confidential and no-cost case evaluation. Contact his office at
1-888-301-6004 about your case today.
