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What You Need to Know About Your Court Appearance

Have you been charged with a misdemeanor or DUI? If so, then your case will likely be prosecuted in either a municipal court or in an Alabama State District Court in the county where you were arrested. Each one of these courts may have different procedural rules. In most instances, however, the purpose of your initial appearance (arraignment) is to determine whether you wish to be represented by counsel and whether or not you wish to contest the charge against you. This hearing will normally take place shortly after your arrest, although some jurisdictions may not schedule it for several weeks.

Consult a Shelby County DUI Attorney Before You Plead Guilty

Many persons charged with DUI make the mistake of entering a guilty plea at their initial appearance without ever consulting with an attorney. This is a huge error in judgment which can have dire future consequences. Many people have pled guilty to charges to which they had legal or factual defenses.

Generally speaking, the sooner a person may speak with an attorney, the more likely it is that the attorney may be able to help the accused obtain a favorable result. Just one example is the need to make a timely request for the preservation of certain types of evidence. We at Polson & Polson consider this to be a top priority upon being hired to represent a person charged with Alabama DUI.

One of the first tasks that we undertake on behalf of a new client is a written request to the head of the arresting agency requiring the preservation of audio and video type evidence. We have learned that in many instances there is a very short retention time and if the request is not made the accused may lose extremely critical evidence that could help them win acquittal. It has been our experience that even if there were no video evidence of the initial stop, field investigation, and arrest, there will be booking room video. We have often found that police reports are exaggerated – when compared to video evidence the accused rarely appears as intoxicated as the arresting officer claims. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. We also carefully analyze any video which depicts field sobriety testing to determine whether or not the testing was strictly in accordance with correct procedures.

We urge you to contact Polson & Polson as soon as possible after your arrest so that we may immediately attempt to gather as much helpful information as possible to build your defense. We win cases by identifying mistakes that the arresting or testing officer makes during the course of their investigation. We have won numerous cases that other lawyers have said were “unwinnable” simply because we bothered to ask for the evidence which you, the accused citizen, are entitled to. Any lawyer who fails to thoroughly investigate all defenses available to a person charged with Shelby County DUI is neglecting their responsibility to their client. At Polson & Polson, we take our responsibility towards your welfare very seriously.

How many and what drinks have you had?

Weight		Sex
How Long?

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) or blood alcohol content concentration is the concentration of alcohol in blood. It is usually measured as mass per volume. For example, a BAC of 0.02% grams of alcohol per 100 grams of individual's blood, or 0.02 grams of alcohol per 100 grams of blood. Use the BAC calculator (Blood Alcohol Content Calculator) beolow to calculate your BAC levels.