Recently, the legislature made it a felony offense to drive while intoxicated with any passenger 14 years of age or younger in the vehicle. Prior to this, it was treated just like any other DWI case. So for someone who has never been in trouble with the law in their entire life, they could potentially be looking at up to two years in a State Jail facility and a $10,000.00 fine, if convicted. Most DA’s will be asking for very lengthy probation sentences for anyone who has not been in trouble before this. If you have been in trouble, they will likely be seeking prison time in this case.

Keep in mind for anyone who is convicted of this offense, they will be a convicted felon for the remainder of their life. This means you have lost the right to vote, the right to have a gun, and so many more. You will be branded a felon and work will be tough to find. Many places will not rent houses or apartments to convicted felons. You will essentially be treated like a third class citizen.

Is now really the time to be bargain shopping for a run of the mill criminal defense lawyer? Sure there are a lot of them willing to plead you guilty to a probation deal, but will they explain to you in the 15-25 minutes they spend on your entire case the vital information I just explained in the previous two paragraphs? It is time to get serious about your case as you are now facing a felony charge and your life, as you know it is going to be irreparably changed forever if this case is not handled correctly. You absolutely must have a DWI Defense lawyer at the ready.

Since you have been charged with a felony DWI offense, either you submitted to a breath test or the officer obtained a search warrant to get your blood. Either way there is likely chemical evidence against you. Many lawyers would run from any case where there is a breath test or blood test. Those lawyers sadly, assume that those tests are infallible and are the end all, be all. I say those lawyers should be barred from every handling a DWI case for the rest of their careers.

Chemical evidence in the form of either a breath test or blood test means nothing at the outset. It may or may not prove to amount to anything. Why would any lawyer run from it automatically? At Greco Neyland, PC we have tried both breath tests and blood tests. They are very scientific and labor intensive. There is a lot of information that a DWI lawyer must pour through in order to determine if the blood or breath test was procured correctly. We routinely hire experts to aid us in interpreting the breath and blood test results. These experts will testify for us in trial should the case make it to trial. They are an absolutely vital part of any DWI case.

This means that these cases are likely going to be more costly to you as the client. But do not shy away from this, and instead remember that your future is at stake. Can you really put a price on your future?

Hire a DWI defense lawyer who has experience handling felony DWI cases where breath or blood was obtained. To hire anyone who has not tried these cases is really just selling yourself short and your future as well.

Call us toll-free at 1-713-972-1100