The Qualities To Look For When Looking To Hire An Attorney For Defending Drug-Related DUI Charges

Interviewer: If someone is looking for an attorney to represent them on a Drug DUI case in New Jersey, what is the quality that they should be looking for in an attorney?

James Abate: They should be looking for someone who has dealt with, and is aware of, the DRE program, who knows how to get rid of and suppress drugs under a warrant. They should be looking for someone who does primarily drug and alcohol cases. A good benchmark for that is if they look for someone who is a National College for DUI Defense member. That’s a very good piece of information that will tell you that this is someone who is highly trained with the subject matter and isn’t just a real estate lawyer who is out here today and looking to handle a DUI case because it came across his path.

If You Have A Substance Abuse Problem, It Is Always Beneficial To Enroll In A Treatment Program

Interviewer: If someone were to partake in counseling and rehab during the case, would that hurt the case, would that be an admission of guilt, or would that actually help someone’s case.

James Abate: I will almost always require my clients to enter into a treatment program if I feel they have a substance abuse problem, and they cannot be compelled to testify, so I will have them get to those counseling sessions for a couple of reasons. The first reason is, I truly want my clients to recover from the experience of going through their paying a lot of money to deal with the problem on a legal basis. I want them not to have to do that again.

The second reason is, because in the event that I am dealing with a conviction or if there is a case that we decide that a plea is more advantageous for the client, then I want to be able to show the court that they are taking steps to deal with the problem, which could result in the court showing some leniency on them. Part of it is strategy; part is a legitimate need and desire to help the client.

Eventually, Warrants Will Be Applied To Urine Tests And It Is Going To Get Harder For The Police To Obtain Those Results

Interviewer: Anything else that you may want to mention in this regard?

James Abate: The one thing I’ll say is I think that the McNeely case requiring warrants is going to eventually be applied to urine tests, and it’s going to become a lot harder for police to obtain those results. It’s going to put a lot more pressure on judges, and perhaps that will put pressure on the legalization of some things, but even if drugs are legalized, it’s still going to be against the law to drive while impaired.