Drunk Driving Trial Practice

Many attorneys will tell you that they practice drunk driving defense, but in reality the only thing they do is tell you to plead guilty the first time you are in court.  This is not how I practice, so if you are looking for advice on how to plead guilty and let the judge hammer you, you are at the wrong website.  I am a trial lawyer who has handled all types of jury and bench trials for every type of charge you can think of.  Out of all of the cases I handled, I believe that the OWI drunk driving trial is the most technically complex.  That being said, most people who are charged in Oakland County with a drunk driving don’t realize that there is a good chance that they can win their case at trial.

PICKING A DRUNK DRIVING JURY

This is a key part of any driving while intoxicated jury trial.  As somebody accused of a crime, you have a right to ask questions and have discussion with potential jurors prior to choosing who will become a juror.  I use this time to have conversations with potential jurors about how they feel about drunk drivers and drinking and driving.  For example, I always find at least a few people on the jury have experienced going out to dinner and having a glass of wine, or after work catching a couple of beers with their buddies. 

DRUNK DRIVING JURY TRIAL OPENING STATEMENT

Below is a sample drunk driving trial opening statement in a felony drinking and driving case that I recently tried in Oakland County Circuit Court.  The opening should state your case and let the jurors know your perspective of the case. 

DRUNK DRIVING CROSS EXAMINATION

You need to attack, attack, attack.  Many lawyers seem to think that a police officer’s report is infallible.  This is not the case at all.  I routinely slay the police with their own reports.  In the context of an impaired or drunk driving trial , what needs to happen is that you need to have a detailed understanding of how the field sobriety tests work.  Then, you need to show the jury how the cop doesn’t know how to perform the field sobriety tests.  I’m always getting the police officers to admit that they want to change their police reports to indicate the client passed one or more of the field sobriety tests.  See an example of this below.

CLOSING ARGUMENT

The closing argument is all about tying your case together and giving the jurors a final explanation of the facts.  I have made many closing arguments and feel that this is the time to let the jury really feel your emotion.  However, unlike many attorneys who believe that your case is won or lost at the closing, I subscribe to a different theory that your main trial goals need to be explained and understood by the jurors during your jury selection, so they know your argument throughout the trial.