As technology use becomes prevalent in law enforcement, we are seeing more and more video interaction between police and clients. The more recent Blogs cover some of these cases. Body Cam footage has been extremely valuable in the defense of cases. Car video has always been helpful. It is simply amazing how unprepared police witnesses are in the courtroom when there is a video. Often the prosecution does not have time to review the videos in many of the cases. Of course, if you are inexperienced or not very interested in the nuances of Field Sobriety Testing or Search and Seizure, these videos serve no purpose and the client is short changed. Words matter, and what the police say during an encounter is critical to the defense of any case. There are no shortcuts to defending people accused of an offense. You cannot hide a conviction or a Probation Before Judgment from employers. I get calls every week from people who cannot get a job because of a conviction and/or a probation and want to know if I can undo what their original lawyer did. The answer is usually “no” because there is not sufficient evidence that the original trial counsel meets
The test for providing inefficient assistance of counsel. You have one chance to get it right. I do not win every case or try every case, but I prepare to do so, and make sure the client gets every protection allowed by our Constitution and laws. In the coming months lawyers in MD will be able to brand themselves as “Specialists” without a standardized criteria. I expect that a lawyer who has represented 1 client in a DUI and done nothing else may think himself a specialist because he has only practiced that kind of law- 1 case. Your case that brought you to this site is the biggest thing in the world for you at this time. It is why you are on the internet researching lawyers and calling every name you find. You will get letters from dozens of lawyers who solicit business by buying the list of people charged with any type of criminal offense- DUI is a criminal offense. You have to select someone who is going to care about your case and your future. I have a reputation for straight talk and being aggressive in preparing you for the case. I insist on treatment as every judge in Maryland EXPECTS the client to be evaluated and in treatment.
The client I represented yesterday for his second DUI in the last 5 years hired a letter writer who told him treatment was an option. When the client received a notice from the MVA that the Medical Advisory Board (MAB) was now involved in his licensing the lawyer asked the Maryland Criminal defense Attorney’s List Serve if the client should get into treatment. By coincidence his client called me 15 minutes later because he knew the lawyer did not have a clue. The case involved an accident on a highway. By the time we got to court yesterday, we had fulfilled the MAB requirements as well as treatment and the State recommended a suspended sentence. The judge was surprised at the recommendation and went along with it. The case after mine was almost identical and the State was recommending jail time. The difference? A lawyer who was prepared to challenge the Field and Breath Testing and a client who EARNED his freedom. We are talking about your life and your freedom, so never think that anybody can do this and that one lawyer is the same as another. There are 32 quarterbacks in the NFL that do the exact same job and none of them are Tom Brady. Make sure you look for that quality in the lawyer you select as this is more than a football game, this is your life.