We offer free initial consultations with all potential clients who are seriously interested in defending their OUI charges. My initial consultations usually last about 1.5 – 2 hours.
The purpose of the initial consultation is for the attorney to give you information. Over the last 27 years, I have defended folks accused of everything ranging from murder, arson, robbery and other major felonies down to misdemeanor and felony OUIs.
Ironically, the procedural issues attendant to OUI cases are far more complex than those associated with the aforementioned more serious crimes. It takes about 15 minutes to explain the procedural elements of a major felony case because 99% of those elements deal with court procedure. In an OUI case, there are far more elements of the case that deal with non-court procedures.
Here is how the typical OUI case is handled in my office.
Whether you contact me by phone or email, you will initially speak with my legal assistant, Kristine Wilson. “Kris” has over 21 years of criminal and civil law experience in the Cumberland, Androscoggin and Oxford Counties as both a Legal Assistant and Paralegal.
Kris will gather some background information from you and set up your file. She will also set up your free consultation with me as soon as possible (usually within 48 hours) and answer some of your immediate questions and concerns. Kris will also email or snail mail you her “narrative letter” which will provide you with directions to our office and an outline of information that you should provide prior to or shortly after the consultation.
Next, you and I will meet for an extensive free consultation. I will not simply sit back for twenty minutes and ask you “What happened next?” Again, the purpose of the initial consultation is for me to give you information, not the other way around. You already know what happened. To repeat what you already know to a lawyer is a waste of your time. The “narrative” letter will ask you to provide an extensive, detailed account of what happened as well as personal information should you decide to hire me.
I divide my initial consultations into three parts.
First, I will ask you about some basic background information: prior convictions, court dates, type of license, etc. I will also advise you about collateral issues like travel restrictions, bail conditions and other types of licenses that may be effected by this type of charge.
Second, we will discuss all of the intricacies of the procedural hurdles that you are facing and how to best proactively face and conquer them. These hurdles range from how to address your administrative license suspension proceeding, the DEEP program (counseling), how to get your license restored early via the ignition interlock device and various other administrative issues that are separate from your court case.
We will also review the “second case”, the court/criminal case and its procedural nuances, scheduling and possible outcomes, how “discovery” (the provision of police reports, witness statements, DVDs and other evidence) works and other such issues.
Third, you and I will talk about specific facts about what happened. We will review the reason that you were confronted by the officer, your initial discussions with him or her, the field sobriety tests, your medical history as it pertains to those tests and all aspects of the chemical test (breath, blood or urine) that you performed or your reasons for refusing to take a chemical test. I will explain how all field sobriety tests and chemical tests work and ask you detailed questions about how and why they may be invalid and/or unreliable in your case.
Always Have Your Paperwork Handy
You should have all of your paperwork handy when you speak with Kris (bail bond, summonses, Intoxilyzer print-out and your driver’s license) . She needs information contained in those documents in order to set up your file. You should bring all of those documents to your initial consultation. The defense of your case starts in earnest at our first meeting.
Consultations are not just about discussing fees and potential penalties although we will discuss those issues as well.
Finally, I will be more than happy to answer any all questions that you may have regarding any aspect of your case. I will give you both my email address and Kris’s so that you may ask follow up questions in the hours and days following our initial consultation.
To set up your free consultation, call me at 207-879-4000 or email me at the address provided on this website or at mnichols@nicholstucker.com.
Related Resources:
- 5 Questions to Ask at Your Initial Consultation
- Potential Penalties for First Time OUI and Repeat Offenders
- Levels of Proof Required for an OUI Conviction: A Step By Step Analysis
- Blood Test Results Are Not Dispositive Of Guilt
Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide general, not specific, information about Maine law. The publication of this article does not constitute an attorney-client relationship between the author(s) and the reader(s).
