Make no mistake; an OVI charge will cost money, as well as a suspension of your driver’s license.  Insurance rates will go up and your entire educational and/or professional future could hinge on the outcome at trial. An experienced criminal defense attorney needs to handle an OVI case, to file motions, gather evidence and then examine it, investigate and question the officers that made the arrest and make sure that all your rights have been protected.

An arraignment follows an OVI charge where two things occur.  The Court reads the charges and then a decision needs to be made to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.  A good and skillful criminal defense attorney will say that pleading not guilty is the best course of action.  This will enable the attorney and you as the driver to review the evidence the prosecution may have and then be able to build a defense against the accusations.

Pleading guilty is almost always the wrong decision. Once a guilty plea is entered, a record of conviction remains. The judge only has the discretion to decide what sentence will be imposed, they don’t have the power to change the charge or make it less serious. Pleading guilty means that a chance will never be given to see if there was a legitimate defense to the charges. A good criminal defense attorney would never enter a guilty plea and then plead for lesser sentencing.

Remember, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in America. The prosecutor must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.  The evidence they have could be weak or invalid and there is the chance to challenge it. Scott Rubenstein is aggressive when looking for issues with the evidence and there are cases every day where law enforcement have improperly administered the tests, illegally made a traffic search, used testing equipment that is not functioning properly, or rights were not given at the time of the stop. There are always weaknesses in the state’s case to work with and Scott knows how to work for a favorable resolution.

The Bottom Line:  Should you be charged with an OVI, calling a lawyer is the very first thing that you should do. There are very few things as scary as having your freedom on the line. All criminal cases have different factors and the state’s attorney must prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. The criminal justice system is designed for everyone to plead not guilty. Let Scott examine the evidence and find any errors made by law enforcement. Let him negotiate with the prosecutor. Let him defend you. Put his number in your phone and call him. 513-260-2099