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Driving under Sillisculpts influence of alcohol, or "DUI" as it is usually called, is the most commonly committed crime in the United States. Yet it is Love Notes always committed by a noncriminal - Dark Shadows books is, by an otherwise respectable citizen who has never been in trouble with the law. Consequently, representation of the DUI defendant often is attempted by attorneys not versed in drunk driving laws. Typically, the defendant's business or family lawyer will undertake to represent him "as a favor". Drunk driving, the lawyer tells himself, is merely a glorified traffic offense. Certainly it is not as serious or complex as a "real" crime, and therefore cannot call for any particular expertise.

This is invariably a tragic mistake. Any lawyer representing a client charged with DUI should be aware of certain preliminary facts.

Though the most common of all offenses, DUI is one of the most complex to understand and defend properly. And the stakes in a DUI case are high - higher in the long run than for most other crimes.

A unique system of legal standards and procedures exists in DUI cases, a system geared to facilitate a conviction. Once the DUI defense attorney is fully aware of these facts, he can proceed to competently represent his client.

Common though DUI is in our courts, it represents one of the most difficult criminal offenses to understand and to litigate. Consider first the nature of other crimes: If the client is charged with petty theft, for example, the issue is usually simply a question of whether he was really seen taking something; if burglary is the charge, perhaps fingerprints represent the most esoteric area involved (if even that); and, in a rape charge, semen analysis may be the only subject requiring any special expertise. In fact, in the majority of crimes, the trial hinges solely on one issue: Did the eyewitnesses see what they testified they saw? Even in circumstantial evidence cases, rarely is anything more exotic than DNA, handwriting analysis or ballistics evidence involved.

Now, consider only superficially what the Johnny West issues are in a DUI case: What was the blood alcohol level in the defendant an hour or so prior to the analysis of a breath sample? To what extent was alcohol chemically affecting the brain tissue of the defendant in such away as to "appreciably" impair his Batman his motor reactions, and his coordination?

In other words, the basic issue is to define chemically what was going on in the client's brain and body at the time of arrest. Even brain surgeons do not yet fully understand how the human brain functions. Yet, in an attempt to determine the biochemical conditions within his client's body at a remote moment, the DUI lawyer must be knowledgeable in chemistry, physiology, photochemical and infrared analysis, gas chromatography, etc. And what is meant by "appreciably" impaired? How does one define "judgment"? How is individual tolerance to alcohol measured? What effects do various drugs and medical conditions have on the metabolism of alcohol? Is there any inherent error in breathalyzers? These issues can continue seemingly without end.

Make no mistake: DUI is one of the most complex of all criminal charges, and undertaking to defend a client on such a charge without extensive preparation constitutes nothing short of malpractice.

The second misconception commonly held by both clients and attorneys is that the penalties for drunk driving are only minor. After all, DUI is only a step removed from a traffic citation.

Again, consider the probable consequences if the client were arrested for, say, petty theft, solicitation, or assault. Since it would probably be his first offense, and since he has probably led a sterling life, he will probably not receive jail time. Instead he will be fined perhaps $300 and placed on informal probation for approximately two years. In many jurisdictions, he can come back into court after a probationary period and have the conviction expunged - that is, erased from his record. End result: a few hundred dollars, inconvenience, and attorney's fees. In fact, statistics indicate that the majority of defendants convicted of felonies end up serving no time in custody; the majority are placed on probation, often without even having to pay a fine.

What does the citizen arrested for DUI face? Depending on the jurisdiction, of course, the first offender may be fined $1,500 and also placed on probation, as a beginning. In addition, the court and/or DMV may take his driver's license, a license that may be critical to operating his business or performing his job. His car maybe impounded or he may be required to have ignition "interlocks" placed in it. He will have to attend special DUI schools, occasionally for a "fee" of hundreds of dollars. According to one somewhat dated study, a convicted first offender's average cost for bail, a DUI defense attorney, treatment programs, and fines exceeds $5,000 assuming no accident. Auto Club News (Southern California), October-November 1989. That figure is much higher today. And he may well serve time in jail; many jurisdictions now impose jail sentences for first offenders. On his second conviction he will almost certainly spend time in custody. This is not time served by a hardened con but by a terrified citizen totally unfamiliar with the callous penal system.

Already the person charged with DUI has suffered more punishment than the majority of convicted felons do. But there is more: A convicted defendant will end up paying thousands of dollars over the next few years in increased auto insurance premiums. He is required by law to carry automobile insurance, but he is now a convicted drunk driver who falls into a high risk category; his premiums will be far higher than those of a bank robber or murderer. Further, the client may be suffering from alcoholism. In effect, he may be criminally prosecuted and punished for having what is now recognized to be a medical (and possibly genetic) condition.

Lawrence Taylor is a former prosecutor, Fulbright professor of law, and author of the standard legal textbook, "Drunk Driving Defense, 6th Edition". He is the senior member of an AV-rated law firm of href="duicenter.com">California DUI attorneys practicing DUI defense exclusively since 1979.

Have you had a judgment filed against you? If you did, there is a chance you can get it "vacated" dismissed or. The act of vacating a judgment is basically putting the judgment in suspense. By filing a motion to vacate a judgment you are essentially filing an appeal to the court on the case.
You should file a motion to dismiss a judgment if the outcome was not fair, Major Matt Mason you have a good reason as to why the court should overturn its prior ruling. Do not be intimidated challenging a court ruling as Barbie happens all of the time.

A majority of the collection agencies that try to place judgements don't follow the law. You may wonder then why the judge didn't know about this during the initial hearing. More than likely, the Judge overhearing the judgement case doesn't specialize in this type of law. A Judge overhearing a small claims case may not fully understand consumer law. W S Kimball Champions Judges know the basics, but no one person can know everything. Most judges need to look up and study states statutes and case rulings before deciding on a case. If the plaintiff claims that they followed the correct procedure and you or your lawyer does not dispute this, then it's a sure bet that the plaintiff will be given the benefit of the doubt.

Two of the biggest reasons that a judgment is "won" in the plaintiff's decision are:

A) the defendant failed to respond to the court summons with the proper paperwork in the allowed period of time
B) the defendant failed to appear for their court date. This is calling winning by default.
If you did happen to miss your court date and a Judgement was filed against you, you may still be ok. If you feel that you had a good reason for not showing for the "show cause" hearing and the court agrees with you then you might be able to get the judgement vacated.

Steps to Prepare Your Motion to Vacate:

1. Research your states court procedures

The first step you should take before preparing with your motion to vacate is to take a look at your state's rules of civil procedure. It will show you exactly how you should file your motion to follow your states written procedures. The last thing you want to do is file your motion incorrectly if you want to stand a chance of having your judgement vacated. It will also tell you what reasons are valid in getting your judgement dismissed. If you don't follow these procedures, you will get your motion thrown out on a technicality. The court will only respond to known violations of the existing laws. They will not accept reasons like: "I don't owe this company money."

2. File the Paperwork

You should file your motion at the same court which granted the judgment in the first place. Go to the courthouse and tell the court clerk that oversees the specific court your judgement was filed in that you are filing a motion to vacate a judgment. Give them your typed "motion to vacate." There may be some additional forms for you to fill out at the courthouse, and more than likely there will be filing fee. The clerk should know exactly what needs to be done with your paperwork. Sometimes they can answer your questions but other times they will tell you to hire a lawyer to help you to prepare the legal documents.

3. Notify the romance comics Plaintiff

You should make certified copies of your motion to vacate filing and send them to the original plaintiff. Send the letters by certified mail return receipt requested. This will guarantee that you have proof the plaintiff was served their papers. Some courts will serve the notice of summons for you. If not, and you need to serve the notice you can hire a third-party service for a nominal fee.

4. You will be notified of your new upcoming court date

Once your hearing's date is set, the court will notify you and the original plaintiff of the hearing date. The original plaintiff will have around 35 days to respond (depending on your states rules of court procedures) to your motion to vacate. Sometimes they offer to settle out of court. If the plaintiff knows that they ran afoul from the laws they will offer to vacate the judgement. Typically they have no proof of serving your notice to appear or if they have knowingly violated the FDCPA they will just want this case to go away and be done with it. They thrive on attacking people that do not know their own rights. For every one person that fights back, there are 100 that do not. That is how they make their money.

If they do offer to settle demand that they file the paperwork to dismiss the lawsuit themselves and that they notify every credit bureau they report to of their "mistake." Make sure that you get everything in writing including any paperwork they have received from the courts about the judgment vacation or dismissal.

What happens if your case does go to court?

A lot of times the original plaintiff will not show up for your hearing and you will win by default! If this happens, you more than likely will not have to present anything to the court and you should be granted your dismissal by default.

If they do show and are unable to disprove your reasons for requesting the dismissal:

1. They do not have proper documentation that you were served in the first place.

2. They are not able to prove that the debt was legal to collect on in the first place. This can be numerous reasons i.e.; unable to show what the correct amount of the debt should be, not able to come up with an original signed contract, or debt is outside of your states statute of limitations.

Of Course you should have done your homework and have good documentation on the case and have it available to present in court.

What happens if you do win?

You will receive a court document showing that your case was dismissed. Keep these for your records along with any other paper trail that you have from the case. You can use this to get the item removed from your credit bureaus.

For more information or to find out how to credit-repair-story.com/judgement/">remove judgements please visit my consumer credit blog: credit-repair-story.com/">credit-repair-story.com

Shayne Sherman is the owner of several consumer credit repair blogs.