Were you charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Tony Swartz, a DUI lawyer in Ellensburg, Washington, understands your fears. Your worry as to what could happen next is understandable.
Are you going to jail? Washington law requires a mandatory minimum jail sentence of at least 1 or 2 days for a first offense DUI, or 30 to 45 days for a second DUI. Will your license be suspended? Washington law requires your license be suspended for 90 days to multiple years, typically. What happens with probation, which can be up to 5 years in Washington?
Tony has worked with prosecutors and courts to minimize these consequences for many clients. It is not uncommon to work out deals where little or no jail time is sentenced. Sometimes clients can avoid license suspensions. Probation can be removed or minimized. Every case is different and there are never any guarantees with the legal system, so hiring an experienced attorney like Tony Swartz is really important.
Tony has worked on more than 1,000 DUI cases in Ellensburg and Yakima, and he can help you too. He has handled, most from start to finish, nearly an estimated 10,000 criminal cases including over 60 jury trials. He has also dealt with various types of civil cases, including administrative law hearings, Superior Court cases, District Court cases, and more.
DUIs are special cases - you need a skilled, experienced lawyer who knows DUI cases inside and out. Tony has hundreds of hours of training specific to DUIs and continues to do so every year. He is certified in Standardized Field Sobriety testing, just like cops, so he knows when they do things incorrectly.
Every case is different, and there are never any guarantees, but you can sleep well at the end of the day by knowing you tried everything you could before your case resolved. Do so by hiring Tony to work hard on your behalf.
DUI defense attorney
Tony was a former prosecutor for various municipalities, including Yakima, Ellensburg and Kittitas County areas. He maintains excellent working relationships with all of the required parties within your DUI case. It is important that you hire an attorney who has knowledge about the local court system.
Tony offers flat fee payments so you know exactly how much you will end up paying him. He is available to assist you with:
- DUI defense
- Department of Licensing hearings, license revocation and suspension issues, etc.
- Physical Control defense
- Other alcohol related charges such as minor driving after consuming alcohol cases, minor in possession of alcohol (MIP) defense, and other related charges
Getting Pulled Over After Drinking
Blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror are rarely welcome. If you were drinking or using drugs prior to driving, you may feel sick with fear. A million things run through your mind. You may mentally cross your fingers, hoping you will emerge unscathed from this traffic stop. But in many cases, it's not going to happen.
After field sobriety tests, you may be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The experience of being handcuffed, the feeling when the cop reads your rights and places you into the back of his squad car, the breath test process, etc. is all mortifying for most people. When the police let you make a phone call, you may struggle to decide who to call because you don't want your friends or family to know what has happened.
Mandatory DUI Penalties in Washington
Washington has harsh DUI penalties, and if you are convicted of a DUI, the judge cannot go lower than the mandatory minimum penalties as set by the law. The penalties are complicated because they depend on the outcome of the case and depend on your breath test or test result PLUS your prior record factors in, too.
Even if you are convicted of a first time DUI, the judge is required to give you jail time if the conviction is for DUI. There are mandatory probation conditions. The Department of Licensing is required to suspend your license for DUI convictions.
Tony Swartz can help try to mitigate or avoid these requirements.
Hire a Talented DUI Lawyer
Being charged with a crime is far from the same as being convicted of a crime. That's why you need a good DUI lawyer on your side. Tony Swartz knows all the ins and outs of DUI cases. If there is a way to get your DUI dismissed, he will work his hardest to ensure that is what gets done.
Most DUIs are not dismissed. DUIs often have jail time. A conviction also means you'll lose your license. You'll need to find a way to get back and forth to work — if you still have a job after your employer hears about your conviction. Your parents, children, neighbors, friends and others may eventually find out. You'll be dealing with your own embarrassment. This is all common, but it is able to be managed.
You have a better chance at avoiding some or all of this by hiring an experienced DUI attorney in Ellensburg, Washington, like Tony Swartz.
Experience Makes the Difference
So often in court cases, a defendant expects a judge to rule in their favor. They are often disappointed when this does not happen. The truth is that although the facts of a case are critical, many other factors are important as well. This includes the background of your case, your lawyer's preparedness and experience, and other uncontrollable factors such as what witnesses will say or the introduction of pieces of evidence.
A good DUI lawyer will be able to anticipate all relevant factors. They do their homework. They plan a course of action that will get you the best possible result. They constantly attend training on DUIs, as it is probably the most complicated misdemeanor out there. Tony Swartz does all of these things.
Whether your DUI arrest was an error, a youthful mistake or maybe it is due to extenuating circumstances, you can rest assured that Tony Swartz is the DUI attorney in Ellensburg who can help you. Contact him today for a free consultation. Tony Swartz also offers DUI defense attorney services in Cle Elum and Yakima.
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