"I got arrested for DUI - do I really need a lawyer?" 

The short, honest answer to that question is "No, you do not need a lawyer." You are certainly free to go to court on the appointed dates and times and plead guilty. It won't cost you a nickel in attorney's fees. You can also file your own ARD application and manage getting into ARD on your own. Some people do it. Some people also replace engines in their own cars and change their own transmissions. Some people wire their own houses for electric. For many people, however, it is just not realistic to do it on your own. The experiences of the attorneys in this office include "fixing" approximately 3-4 ARD applications per year for people who tried to do it on their own but who had something go wrong. If you miss something in the ARD process and your ARD application is denied, you could end up losing your driver's license for up to an extra eleven months, plus you will have to go to jail. How much is it worth to you to make sure you don't lose your license for almost a year if you don't have to?

If you've read this website thoroughly, you may have a decent idea of what you are faced with in terms of penalties and what some of your options are. You also know that attorney's fees for a basic DUI case for ARD are in the ballpark of $850.00 - $1,500.00 in York County. It depends on whose office you walk into. Our fees are clearly disclosed here . You may also know that there is probably no other law firm website in York County that tells you that.

If you are faced with handling your ARD or your DUI case on your own without talking to an attorney, you could save yourself the money. What happens if you make a mistake? What happens if you miss a deadline for waiving a hearing or for filing some paperwork? You could be rejected from ARD. You may lose your license for a year instead of sixty or ninety days. Is that a risk you feel comfortable taking to save several hundred dollars? How much is your license worth to you? As mentioned elsewhere, your court costs and fines will, in most cases, be more than what you pay in attorney's fees anyway.

Another benefit to having an attorney experienced in handling DUI cases and other criminal cases is that you can benefit from the attorney's experience. You may not know if you have a defense. An experienced DUI attorney may be able to identify a problem with how your were arrested or how your car was stopped. Ask yourself whether some of these cases would have ended up the same way if the defendant had not had a lawyer. A DUI is not the same as a speeding ticket. Police will not negotiate with you and reduce the charge to "disorderly conduct" or "public drunkeness." Telling a cop that you will lose your job or your house if you can't drive will not change his mind -- the police have specific orders from the D.A.'s office in York County prohibiting them from negotiating DUI cases.

You should hire a lawyer you are comfortable with as soon as possible to give the lawyer the best chance possible to do a good job for you. If you wait until after the preliminary hearing, you are hurting only yourself.

Even if you have no defense and you are not eligible for ARD, you will have questions about work release, house arrest, and license suspension issues. You may want help scheduling your DUI sentence or court dates to conform to your schedule. An attorney will be able to help out with things like these. Your attorney can also help to make the process smoother and more understandable.

A final consideration is that you can have a free, confidential, no-risk consultation with an attorney. You have nothing to lose by calling. Set up your appointment now by calling attorney Joseph N. Gothie, Esq., at (717) 848-8455.

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