One of the last things that any parent wants is to be woken up by a phone call from their child saying they’ve been arrested for drunk driving. For most parents, learning that their son or daughter is being charged with a DUI is a traumatic experience—usually leaving you feeling angry at the child for making such a huge mistake and also worried about the impact their arrest could have on their future.
Now Is Now the Time to Teach Them a Lesson
Of course, there are also those parents who think that their child deserves to be taught a lesson and thus refuse to help their child out. However, no matter how angry you are, you should really try to put that aside for the time being and do whatever you can to help. There will be plenty of time to be angry later on once your son or daughter is out of jail, but first, it’s important that you take the proper steps to ensure that their one mistake doesn’t come to define their life.
Get Your Child the Legal Help They Need
The very first thing you should do upon learning that your child has been charged with a DUI is to hire an attorney. A DUI defense lawyer is the biggest key to helping you and your child navigate this legal minefield. Should it be necessary to have the case go to court, your lawyer will be able to help prepare a defense that gives your child the best chance of beating the charges.
Examining the Legal Evidence
Your attorney will first take whatever steps they can to prevent things from ever getting to a courtroom. One such way is to challenge the results of the blood or breath test. If not all steps were properly followed or there are any irregularities or ambiguities in the results, it may be possible to have the evidence overturned and the case thrown out before it ever makes it to court.
Working to Reduce the Severity of the Sentence
In addition, most DUI defense attorneys will have formed strong working relationships with many of the local prosecutors and judges. By working close with the prosecuting attorney, your lawyer may be able to help get the charges reduced. If the case does end up going to court, the lawyer’s intimate knowledge of local judges will also enable them to tailor their case based on the specific views and attitude of the presiding judge.
At the end of the day, there is unfortunately not all that much you can do for your child if they’ve been arrested. The best thing you can do is to make sure to provide them with plenty of love and emotional support, while also ensuring that they get the professional legal help they need. Otherwise, that one mistake could end up haunting them and potentially even you for the rest of your lives.