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Nashua DUI Lawyers

1. Sweeney Law Group: Classifications of Crimes Because the negative behavior regulated by the criminal laws varies from relatively minor to devastatingly violent, crimes are classified into levels or degrees. The classification of a crime reflects its seriousness. If you face questioning or arrest or are accused of a crime, you should consult an experienced attorney as early in the process as possible for help protecting your legal and constitutional rights. A criminal-defense lawyer can explain the particular crime involved and its possible ramifications.
2. Huelskamp & Huelskamp: Drunk driving defense is a specialized area of law. You should consult with an experienced, qualified DUI LAW attorney to find a solution to your legal problem if you, or someone you care about, have been arrested for DUI or OWI. Indiana OWI cases (short for Operating While Intoxicated) can be prosecuted on one of two theories: Either the state will try to prove that a person was operating a vehicle at a time when they were intoxicated (meaning that they suffered a loss of control of their normal thought and faculties as the result of consuming alcohol and/or drugs), or by violating the per se law, meaning that they drove with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more. OWI cases in Indiana are generally misdemeanor offenses, but the penalties in Indiana drunk driving cases can increase dramatically in cases where the blood alcohol level is .15% or more. Drunk driving laws in Indiana are unique in one respect: Indiana OWI arrests result in the law enforcement officer selecting a choice of blood, breath or urine testing to determine the alcohol content of the person arrested for drunk driving. The person arrested for drunk driving in Indiana has no right to select the test, nor any right to consult with a lawyer before deciding whether or not to submit to the test. The policeman is supposed to take your license at the time of your arrest and give you a receipt for it. You are not suspended when the officer takes your license. In fact, you can apply for a duplicate license until your suspension by the Court or the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). A duplicate license is a great idea for identification purposes to save you humiliation when asked for I.D. Of course, once the Court or BMV tells you that you are suspended, you can no longer drive and your duplicate license is not valid for driving or identification. In Indiana there are at least three (3) recidivist or repeat offender consequences for OWI. First, and most serious, Indiana has a habitual substance offender statute that could yield up to 8 additional years in jail if filed against a client with two (2) or more prior offenses. Second, a felony OWI in Indiana usually involves a prior offense within 5 years of the current charge. Finally, habitual traffic violator status is imposed on OWI offenders who accumulate three (3) OWI's in a ten (10) year period. Therefore, prior offenses can be an important part of your case. Your lawyer must examine the validity of the prior offense and determine if post-conviction relief might eliminate one of these offenses. If you are convicted of OWI in Indiana, a range of punishment can be imposed. * First offenders can expect probation, payment of restitution, a license suspension and payment of court costs. Many courts require a jail sentence, even for first offenders, especially if the OWI involves an alcohol level of .15% or more. * Second offenses carry greater penalties. A felony may be imposed and reduced later; jail time may be required; probation; road crew; public restitution; home detention; and increased costs. 6 months to 1 year is a typical license suspension for a second-time OWI. * Third or subsequent offenses largely depend on the timing of your prior offenses. If you are habitual traffic violator eligible, you will lose your license for 10 years, plus anywhere from 3-9 months of jail time and a lengthy probation. You may qualify for drug or alcohol court. Indiana OWI lawyers know that cases involving accidents and injuries usually require jail in the event of a conviction. These penalties do not reflect the additional administrative driver's license suspension imposed in Indiana OWI cases. In 1983, Indiana law changed to allow an administrative suspension of your driver's license if you either failed or refused a chemical test - defined as a breath, blood, or urine test for alcohol or drugs. Your administrative suspension is for 180 days if you failed a chemical test or, for one year if you refuse a chemical test. Unfortunately, the fastest way for a first offender to regain their driver's license is to plead guilty. From 1983 to the present, Indiana law has been written to coerce you to plead guilty if you want a quick and easy solution to license suspension. A guilty plea in a first offense case typically will allow you to choose either a 90 day license suspension with high-risk insurance (SR-22) required, or, a 30 day license suspension to be followed by 180 days of probationary driving for work, school, or other proper purposes. High risk SR-22 insurance may not be required if you select a probationary license. If you do decide to fight your case in court, it is still possible to obtain a "hardship" license if it is a first-offense case. You must file a lawsuit in the Circuit court of your home county. You do not qualify for a hardship license if you refused a chemical test. WARNING: the hardship license is the most restrictive in Indiana by statute; its enforcement depends on the leniency of your judge. A separate attorney fee is typically charged to file this lawsuit and there is a filing fee. It is critical that you consult with a skilled Indiana drunk driving defense lawyer who understands how to defend these matters. There are different suspensions imposed in Indiana OWI cases, depending upon whether there is a conviction in criminal court or not. All suspensions for convictions are different from administrative suspensions from the BMV, because you have been found guilty either by plea bargain or jury trial. First offenders who failed a chemical test typically may choose a 90-day license suspension or the 30-day suspension and 180-day probationary license. There will be some administrative suspension credit. First offenders who refused a breath test are suspended for 90 days from the date the sentence is imposed, and there is no credit for the administrative suspension. For repeat offenders, assuming you are not habitual offender eligible, if your prior conviction is less than 5 years from your current conviction, a mandatory 1 year license suspension is required. If your prior conviction is more than 5 years but less than 10 years from your current conviction, a mandatory 180-day license suspension is required. If your prior conviction is greater than 10 years from your current conviction, a 90-day suspension is the minimum. In all cases, the above suspensions are mandatory minimums, and the judge may increase those suspensions. If you have 3 major traffic violations in a 10 year period you may lose your license for 10 years. If you have 1 major violation, plus 9 or more minor moving violations such as speeding, then you may lose your license for 5 years. If you drive after being found a habitual offender, you can lose your license for life. If you drive on a suspended license following a drunk driving conviction suspension, there is a mandatory 60-day jail sentence.
3. Small & Lyons: # Administrative License Suspension # Assault # Domestic Violence Offenses # Drug Offenses # DUI / Drunk Driving # Misdemeanors & Felonies # Shoplifting # Speeding / Motor Vehicle Violations # Theft
4. Seabury & Sweeney: Drunk Driving Offenses in New Hampshire: Misdemeanors and Felonies DWI/DUI is generally a misdemeanor in New Hampshire. However, depending on the circumstances, drunk driving charges include felonies, such as aggravated DWI and felony DWI. Aggravated DWI is a drunk driving charge involving serious bodily injury, including that of the accused. Felony DWI charges are for people with three previous DWI convictions. Even a simple DWI conviction can result in a $500 fine and three to six months of license suspension.
5. Follender Law Offices: Being criminally convicted of a DWI has numerous negative consequences, including: * Points against your license * Suspended driver's license * Increased insurance costs * Criminal record Under the Implied Consent Law, you can be required to take a breathalyzer test when pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence. If you refuse to do so and it is your first refusal, you will lose your license for six months. If it is a subsequent refusal or subsequent offense, you will lose your license for two years. After you have taken a breath test, you have 30 days to request a hearing from the Department of Safety to protect your driving privileges.
6. Holland, Frank: CRIMINAL DEFENSE Felony DWI Domestic Violence Drug Charges Assault Homicide FAMILY LAWYER Divorce Child Custody Child Support Property Disputes Domestic Violence Alimony INJURY LAWYER Auto Accidents Slip and Fall Injuries Worker's Compensation Claims
7. Bowser, Michael: Two police cruisers sit parked in breakdown lane with emergency lights activated following conclusion of routine highway traffic stop. Officers standing between cruisers inside fogline. Oncoming vehicle does not move from travel lane to passing lane as it approaches parked cruisers and actually touches upon fogline within inches of cruisers as it passes. Police immediately pull out and stop vehicle based on driver's failure to give wide berth. Stop leads to field sobriety tests, arrest and breath test results of .15 BrAC. Defense Motion to Suppress allowed as no reasonable articulable suspicion exists to stop vehicle. DWI complaints dismissed.
8. Shepherd & Osborne: being accused of a crime and that the legal process is often times confusing
9. Bookman & Al-Marayati: What should I do if a police officer asks me to take a breathalyzer? For many years attorneys have been telling people never to submit to a breath test. Unfortunately, such advice tends to be based on an outdated understanding of the law and ignores recent developments in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire related, in particular, to administrative license suspensions for refusal to submit to a breath test. Keep in mind that there are now two main types of breath testing. The first is roadside testing with a portable machine. You have a right to refuse such a test. For refusing this type of test there is no license suspension. The refusal of a roadside test cannot be used as evidence against you at trial. The second, more common type of test occurs at the police department following arrest. Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have what are generally referred to as "implied consent" laws. Under these laws, a person who has been arrested may refuse a post-arrest test. However, such a refusal will result in a minimum license suspension of 180 days in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Such suspensions may be significantly longer, depending on an individual's prior history. In Massachusetts, a refusal to take a post-arrest breath test is not admissible in trial. However, in New Hampshire such evidence may be considered against you. Of course, if you do take a test, and the result is above the legal limit, you will be charged with operating under the influence. In some cases individuals can be, and have been, charged even when the test result is simply close to, even though under, .08. Unfortunately, there is no simple "one size fits all" answer. Whether you should take a breath test depends on your personal circumstances, including your prior history, and an honest self-assessment of your level of impairment. If you have had very little or no alcohol, submitting to and passing a breath test may actually result in you not being charged -- and will avoid a license suspension for refusing a test. Under such circumstances, taking a test may present a reasonable option. However, if you are feeling the effects of alcohol, even slightly, you should think long and hard before submitting to a test and should remember that your attorney will usually have a much better opportunity to obtain a favorable result for you in court if you refuse the test. The police would like to speak with me about a crime. What should I do? Contact an attorney. Even if the police tell you that you are not a suspect, that information may not be true. The law gives police officers wide latitude to lie to citizens to obtain statements and even confessions. The police are trained in the use psychological tactics to get you to say what they want to hear in order to use it against you later. Recent surveys of convictions overturned on appeal by new DNA evidence reveal that more than 20% of these cases involved "confessions." In other words, in those cases, the police were able to get people to admit to crimes that they did not commit! We know that these convictions were false because in each case a judge agreed that on the basis of incontrovertible DNA evidence the person who confessed and spent years in prison did not commit the crime. You have an absolute right to refuse to speak with a police officer. If a police officer asks to speak with you, you have the right to tell the officer that you do not wish to speak with him or her and that you would like to consult with an attorney. A police officer is required to respect these rights and must cease any questioning immediately. Asserting your right to remain silent and your right to an attorney may not be used against you later at a trial. An attorney can speak with you confidentially. Your conversations with that attorney are "privileged", meaning that your attorney cannot tell anyone what you have told him or her without your permission. The attorney can then make an assessment to determine whether or not you appear to be a suspect. Following that determination, the attorney can assist you with a strategy to fit your needs. That strategy may involve attempting to secure an immunity arrangement (a legally binding agreement that your statements may not be used against you) or it may be to contact the police to tell them that you do not wish to speak, essentially acting as a buffer to protect you from them. ΚΚ I was recently arrested. I'm guilty. So I think I should just ΚΚ plead guilty without hiring an attorney. Is that a good idea? ΚΚ No. It is almost never advisable to act as your own attorney and ΚΚ to enter a guilty plea without consulting with a lawyer. If you are ΚΚ charged with a crime you should enter a not guilty plea and consult ΚΚ an attorney immediately. A lawyer can advise you of all of the consequences of a guilty plea (many of which you may not have been aware of), knows whether a plea bargain proposal offered by the government is reasonable in light of the circumstances, and can negotiate effectively on your behalf to obtain a fair result. If the police ask me for permission to search my home, my person, or my car, what should I do? You have the right to refuse a search, but not to physically resist. Police officers may legally conduct searches, even without consent and without a warrant, for a variety of reasons. However, when they do so, they may later have to provide justification for the search in court. A judge will then decide whether the search was reasonable and whether the evidence obtained will be allowed to be presented by the government at trial. If you consent to a search, you will have eliminated nearly all defenses related to the legality of the search. Never physically resist an officer who is trying to arrest you, and never interfere with a search, even if you believe it is illegal! Under what circumstances may a police officer stop me while I'm driving? A police officer must have a reasonable suspicion that you have committed, or are in the process of committing, a criminal offense or motor vehicle infraction. There are countless reasons allowing a law enforcement officer to justify detaining a motorist, including the following: - Weaving or crossing over lane markings, even slightly - Following too closely - Speeding - Driving too slowly - Failing to maintain a steady speed - Erratic driving - Failure to signal a lane change - Failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign - Failing to stop for a traffic light - Illegal turn - Driving at night without headlights on - Expired registration or overdue inspection - Faulty equipment, such as a burned out headlight or taillight or even a burned out license plate light ...and many, many more. In other words, an officer may pull you over for nearly any reason at practically any time, even though, as we've all seen, police officers frequently break many of these same rules themselves in non-emergency situations.
10. Borofsky, Amodeo-Vickery & Bandazian : This web site contains more information about our legal practice and our attorneys. Use our Resources section as your starting point for legal, medical, financial research and more. Check our News section for information about our seminars and new developments, and our Cases section for our important appellate decisions, including our multimillion dollar verdict against New Hampshire seacoast attorney Seth Bader who terrorized and then murdered his ex-wife, Vicki Bader, and our most recent Supreme Court victory, Appeal of Thomas Wingate.
11. Gottesman & Hollis: The State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There are instances when a person can appear intoxicated and be quite sober. Consequently, as with any accusation by the State, it is best to say nothing and do nothing which could be misconstrued and possibly used against you at trial. However, the police can utilize other evidence to convict you of a DWI charge if you refuse to take a breathalyzer (now known as intoxilizer) test. This evidence could include, for example, the officer's observations regarding the operation of your motor vehicle (if erratic driving) and the results of sobriety tests.