Pennsylvania Criminal & DUI Defense

September 11, 2018By Brian Manchester

What You Should Do After Being Charged with DUI

After you have been pulled over and charged with DUI, it is more than likely that several questions and concerns are going through your head. At Manchester & Associates, we commonly get the following questions:

• Am I going to lose my license?
• What do I do now?
• Do I tell my insurance company?
• Am I going to jail?

Thus, we thought it would be helpful to post this list outlining the first things you should do after being accused of DUI.

First – Lock Down Social Media

First, make sure that all of your social media profiles (such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) are set to Private mode. Once on Private mode, do not accept any friend or follow requests from people you do not know. One of the most common ways for law enforcement to gather evidence today is to check your social media sites. Anything on those sites can and will be used against you, even if you don’t think that there is anything on your profile that would be considered evidence.

Keep in mind, the prosecution can take pictures and other postings from these profiles and attempt to present them to a jury out of context in a way that will damage your reputation and possibly convict you of a DUI charge. There is no reason to leave it to chance.

Second – Write Everything Down

Anything you remember from the traffic stop should be written down, no matter how insignificant you may think it is. Your memory will fade over time, and a small detail may be the difference between being found guilty or innocent of DUI. Things to write down include:

• When and where you were stopped
• Why the officer told you he was pulling you over
• What the officer told you about taking a BAC test
• What kind of BAC test did the officer give you

Third – Gather Witnesses

Third, talk to your friends, family, or anyone else who may have seen you right before, during, or after the traffic stop. All of these people are potential witnesses that may testify for you in court. Your attorney can take statements from each of them, as well as call them as witnesses, in an effort to show you were not intoxicated. This leads to the next step.

Finally – Stay Calm

Finally, stay calm. We know this may be a difficult and scary time for you. It is natural to want to obsess over the case. However, you should let an attorney like Brian Manchester handle the details that are necessary to properly fight for you. Brian will maintain a good line of communication with you to keep you in the loop about your case, and lift the burden off of you while you continue to live your normal life. For a free consultation we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.

Contact Brian Manchester at Manchester & Associates

Brian Manchester has extensive training in DUI defense and is even a member of the National College for DUI Defense, the American Chemical Society, and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists. Brian Manchester also regularly attends seminars that specifically focus on DUI defenses, and he was also the Educational Chairman for the Pennsylvania Association of Drunk Driving Defense Attorneys. As you can tell, Brian Manchester is an expert when it comes to defending clients from DUI charges, and he has been doing such for 18 years.

Posted in: DUI , General Information

Tags: DUI, DUI attorney, DUI Defense, DUI lawyer, underage dui,