Reader’s Question:

How is the horizontal gaze nystagmus test being done in DUI field sobriety tests? If I get arrested for DUI in Louisville, Kentucky, do I have to do this test?

Blair
Louisville, KY

If you get arrested for DUI in Louisville, Kentucky, you don’t have to take the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) because this test, as they say, looks for twitching in the eye due to disequilibrium caused by alcohol in the body which can be revealed by the HGN test. In dong the HGN, the officer would ask you if you are wearing contacts and tell you to follow instructions because failure to follow is allegedly an indication of alcohol impairment. The officer would ask you to follow a stimulus like a pen or finger then passes his finger side to side approximately 15 inches from your face at approximately four seconds a pass in order to determine if your eyes follow the stimulus smoothly and each eye tracks the stimulus equally which could be a symptom of a traumatic brain injury or brain disorder.

The officer would pass the stimulus in front your face at two second passes in order to look for twitching prior to the eye reaching a forty five degree angle from the nose. Finally, he would hold the pass at maximum deviation and looks for twitching before four seconds elapses. The officer would look for certain clues in each eye like twitching prior to the onset of forty five degrees, twitching at maximum deviation and if the eye pursues smoothly.

Tags: DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests

Reader’s Question:

Can blood alcohol test show how long the person had been drinking before driving? And in a DUI arrest, if an officer in Louisville, Kentucky would measure my blood alcohol content using the breath test, can I ask for a blood alcohol test?

John

Louisville, KY

In a DUI arrest, time is very important in measuring the blood alcohol content (BAC) of a person who is suspected to be driving under the influence of alcohol. The time that passes between drinking alcoholic beverage and collecting blood sample would greatly affect the results. The body would continue to break down alcohol at a steady rate after drinking which means that the amount of alcohol that a person drinks could be estimated by knowing how much alcohol is present in the blood and how much time has passed since the person had a drink. But the blood alcohol test only measures the amount of alcohol in the blood at the time that blood sample is taken and it doesn’t show how long the person had been drinking before driving.

If in case you get arrested for DUI in Louisville, Kentucky and the police officer uses the breath test to measure your BAC and you think that the test is inaccurate, you can definitely ask for a blood alcohol test instead. There are a lot of factors that could affect the BAC if a breath test is used and this has already been proven to be inaccurate in many DUI cases.

Tags: blood alcohol test, breath test, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

I got my first conviction for DUI and need to go to DUI school. If I give this certificate to my insurance company in Kentucky, could it help with my premium or anything? Is it mandatory that I should give my insurance this certificate? Are there any other classes I could take to decrease my insurance rate?

Paul

Louisville, KY

No. Taking alcohol class or driving course due to DUI does not typically help with your insurance premiums. DUI school is just a component of the penalties ordered by the court after conviction of DUI, DDW, or OUI.

Every state varies on their rules and regulations for DUI school. In some states, it is mandated that one completes a DUI course to regain any driving privileges such as full license or conditional/restricted license. In some states, DUI classes are required upon any DUI conviction.

Regarding your certificate, it is best that you contact your insurance company in Kentucky to verify if they need your DUI completion certificate. But because the course was due to DUI, there is a big probability that it would not lower your premium.

Reader Question

Hi, I am George. I live and work here in Fayette. I am sharing an incident that happened in my life that I will never forget. Last week, after work my friends and I had some night out at the nearest pub. We had fun and had lots of vodka. On or about 2am, I went home and a police officer stopped me, and then let me pull over. I could not hide that I was drunk and by the looks of it, the police really knew that I had a high level of blood alcohol concentration. I was arrested right there and then. Now, I am facing criminal charges against me of DUI.

I have a good name to uphold, is there any way to clear up my DUI record?

George, Fayette KY

Hi George,

Good news! You can clear up your DUI record. If I am not mistaken this is your first time to have been charged with DUI. One thing that you can do right after being convicted of DUI you can then seek to have a new trial. A Kentucky DUI lawyer will definitely know if a new trial can be ask before the court. For instance, upon admission of the evidence, there was error or some other procedural problems as enumerated under the law.

The judge can either grant or deny your request for a new trial. Once granted, you will then present your case in its entirety again before a new jury. Once the jury decided that you are not guilty of the charges, then your DUI record will be cleared, it is as if you were not convicted before. However, if the judge denies your request or you lose the second trial, you can appeal your case with the aid of your lawyer. If you will get a favorable decision, then your conviction will be reversed and your DUI record will be cleared.

If you want to clear up your DUI record, better seek the help of one of the best Kentucky DUI lawyers in your place.

Whatever might you have backing you up, there’s one thing that will always throw a stick in your wheel: the evidence. Now, if your fighting a DUI because you say you weren’t actually drunk, then it’s a different story, but with a standard DUI, the evidence that your Owensboro Kentucky DUI lawyer has to work with can make a huge difference.

There are a lot of cues, verbal, visual, and so on, that indicate that a driver is drunk, so how you handled yourself when you were pulled over can give you a good look into how tough it will be for you to fight your case. Here are some signs of a DUI offender; tell your Owensboro Kentucky DUI lawyers the ones that apply to you.

• Drunk drivers have a habit of driving horribly, or like they’re paranoid. They won’t be able to stay in their lanes, or keep their foot on the gas, or they’ll drive achingly slow to avoid police, or too fast.
• The signs of someone who has been drinking a lot include the smell of beer/whatever, reddened eyes, bad breath, altered speech patterns.
• Police don’t just go on these signals, though. Normally, they have you get out of your car and do something simple, like stand on one foot. If you can’t do these easy things and don’t have a good excuse, it works against you.
• You will also probably have a test on you to check your blood alcohol level.

When I go to hire a lawyer, I know technically that I should be considering a lot of things–experience, success, knowledge–but you know there’s still only one thing on my mindL: how much am I going to pay for this?

The crazy thing is, it’s not only the quoted rate that should answer that question–HOW you pay for your Louisvill Kentucky DUI attorney is also relevant, because a quote is just a quote and can change, so you need to know the limits of the actual method.

A Louisville Kentucky DUI attorney will charge you, in most cases, either a standard fee or an hourly rate. Which one is best for you depends on what kind of case you have. If you have a hard one that’s probably going to be long and drawn out and require a lot of time put in it, avoid the hourly rate! Those dollars add up. On the other hand, if you have a pretty open and shut case, like if you have only your first time getting a DUI, with no complications like possible job loss or an accident, then you might do fine with the hourly rate, but you still need to watch how much they charge per hour. Cheap isn’t always bad, but it isn’t always good, either.

To keep your case on track, you need to have a seat with your Covington Kentucky DWI lawyer and discuss the goals you and s/he have and hope to complete by the time your case ends. Here are some ideas of what to talk about.

• Schedule.

When are things going to happen? What landmarks should I look forward to? When do I need to give you certain information? When do we need to meet? How long will this case take?

• Expectations.

Can I reduce or completely get rid of my jail service, or replace it with community service? Can I get my driver’s license back? If not, can I get some kind of driver’s license to use just for work? Can I keep this off my record? Can I get a fine reduction? Can I take defensive driving classes to reduce some of this?

Make a list to follow and keep yourself in check, so that everything with your Covington Kentucky DWI lawyer progresses well.

Back to the subject of the fee agreement. Among the important things we’ve already spoken of–like payment method, and asking the right questions–there’s also the idea that the spirit of the fee agreement is in the details. Although you should definitely look at the overall cost of services, it’s worth it to check out the individual charges too, since a lot of them are highly variable. Here are some which might show up while you’re getting thecost of Hopkinsville KY DUI lawyer.

• Office stuff. Paper use. Fax line. Stamps. This is usually just a few bucks, unless your lawyer is making giant paper mache snowmans with your casework or something.
• Court stuff. Fees to pay the jury (not all DUI cases have juries, but you can usually choose to have one). Fees to file paperwork. Fees to hold court.
• Employee stuff. Extra charges for when your lawyer has to pay people to stay overtime and do things for your case. Also for any new hires just for yourcase.
• Traveling. Cost of gas, taxis, etc. to bring your lawyer to the court house. Same if you have witnesses and the lawyer has to arrange for their transportation.

Here’s a new phrase that you need to learn before consulting with your first Bowling Green Kentucky DWI attorney: fee agreement. Learn it, and learn it well, because it’s very important, and you shouldn’t leave a consultation without having one of these in your hands.

So what is the fee agreement? It’s basically a piece of paper which explains things such as the attorney’s responsibilities, your responsibilities, what you’re paying them for, and how much you’ll be paying. Any agreement you guys come to about payment or tasks needs to go onto this paper, because verbal agreements just don’t hold.

You can also use the fee agreement to compare lawyers, while taking into account other factors, like experience. Just to make sure you get all of the information you need, don’t forget to ask questions like these:

• Will I be able to pay for your services in installments? If so, do I start now or after we’re done? Will there be an interest? What’s he rate?
• Can complications with my case cause this price to go up?
• What can I do to keep the price down?

READER QUESTION:

What are the benefits of hiring an AV rated Frankfort Kentucky DUI lawyer?

Carissa

EXCELLENT QUESTION, CARISSA.

The main reason that people hire an AV rated Frankfort Kentucky DUI lawyer is because they are looking for quality, and these ratings give them an informed basis to judge that quality on. There is only so much that you can do and know just by researching and going to consultations, and in the end, a lot of the information you use to choose your lawyer is provided by the lawyer themselves, and then only as good as their word. AV ratings, on the other hand, are part of a system devised by professionals to gather the educated opinions of lawyers and judges, and reduce them into a rating to guide clients.

If you hire an AV rated Frankfort Kentucky DUI lawyer, then make sure that you hire one with, well, a good rating. Simply being rated doesn’t make them a good catch, because it can go both ways. But if you hire someone who has been given a good rated, then you are pretty much guaranteed that they will have years of experience, a history of success, and a high standard of ethics, all shown out by their actions. Granted, such a lawyer may cost more than the average sort, but sometimes that is necessary.

–Fashun.