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Being charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (OWI/OVWI), also called Driving Under the Influence (DUI), is one of the most stressful situations you can face. The stakes are high: your driver’s license, your job, your insurance rates, your freedom, and your criminal record are all on the line.
The attorney you choose will have a major impact on the outcome of your case. Not every lawyer who advertises for OWI/DUI cases actually knows how to defend them. Law school doesn’t teach the science behind blood alcohol testing or the strategy of challenging field sobriety tests. And plenty of “criminal defense” attorneys avoid trial altogether, taking whatever deal the prosecutor offers.
Before you sign a contract or pay a retainer, you should ask these 10 questions. The answers will tell you whether an attorney has the skill, experience, and drive to protect you.
An OWI arrest sets off a chain of events with your driver’s license and it often starts before your criminal case even gets going.
Here’s what many people don’t realize:
In some cases, you might be eligible for specialized driving privileges to get to work or take care of family obligations, but only if the request is handled strategically. Some prosecutors agree to these privileges, but many don’t, and certain judges won’t grant them without the prosecutor’s approval.
We’ve seen lawyers tell clients not to bother asking for driving privileges because it might “make the prosecutor mad.” That’s not strategy, that’s avoidance. At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, we’ve handled every variation: first-time arrests, multiple priors, refusals, commercial licenses, and complicated out-of-state suspensions. When your ability to drive is on the line, you need someone who knows exactly how to protect it.
Prosecutors know which lawyers will take a case all the way to trial and which ones won’t.
Even if you never plan to go to trial, having a lawyer with real jury trial experience changes the dynamic. Prosecutors are more likely to make better offers to attorneys they know can and will fight in front of a jury. It’s human nature: if you know your opponent can beat you, you’re more willing to compromise.
Our firm has tried plenty of OWI cases to juries in Indiana, with results that speak for themselves. That reputation benefits every client we represent, because the prosecutor knows we’re not bluffing.
A bench trial (a trial to a judge instead of a jury) is common in misdemeanor cases, including many OWIs. Bench trials are often the right choice when the legal issues are more important than disputed facts.
Winning a bench trial requires knowing how to make precise legal arguments that persuade a judge. It’s a different skill set than jury trials, but just as important.
Some lawyers who brand themselves as “DUI attorneys” rarely handle a bench trial. We handle them regularly, and we know when a bench trial can be used to your advantage.
This is a quick way to find out whether an attorney understands the basics of OWI defense.
There are only three standardized field sobriety tests recognized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
That’s it. Everything else (i.e. alphabet tests, touching your nose, balancing with your eyes closed) might be used by police, but they’re not standardized and don’t have the same reliability standards.
If an attorney can’t name all three, or tells you others are “just as good,” they don’t know the science and you should keep looking.
It’s one thing to read about field sobriety tests in a manual. It’s another to complete the same hands-on training officers go through by watching and practicing the tests on actual people who have been drinking.
This training exposes the flaws in the tests and the ways officers often fail to follow protocol. At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, several of our attorneys have done this training, which means we know exactly how to cross-examine an officer on their mistakes.
In many OWI cases, the State’s biggest piece of evidence is a chemical test result. This is either a breath test or a blood draw.
If the test was done incorrectly, the sample was mishandled, or the machine wasn’t maintained properly, that evidence can sometimes be kept out of trial entirely. That’s a game-changer.
We’ve successfully challenged and excluded chemical test results both at trial and on appeal. Doing that requires in-depth knowledge of the science and the law, which not every lawyer invests in the specialized training needed to pull off.
The NCDD is a professional organization for attorneys who focus on DUI/OWI defense. Membership gives attorneys access to advanced training, scientific resources, and a network of skilled lawyers nationwide.
An attorney who invests in NCDD membership and actually participates in its resources has shown they’re serious about staying on the cutting edge of OWI defense.
Former prosecutors have an insider’s understanding of how these cases are built, what evidence matters most, and where the weaknesses usually are.
Several of our attorneys served as DUI/OVWI prosecutors in Marion County, working on a specialized task force that handled hundreds of drunk driving cases. We use that perspective every day to anticipate and counter the State’s strategy.
All attorneys in Indiana must take continuing legal education every year. But there’s a big difference between taking a last-minute seminar on civil law and attending a multi-day, science-heavy OWI defense program.
We make it a point to attend, and sometimes teach, national seminars on defending drunk driving cases. That commitment keeps us ahead of changes in the law, technology, and courtroom strategy.
You should never choose an attorney solely on price, but affordability matters. If you can’t pay your lawyer, you can’t keep your lawyer.
We know being charged with a crime doesn’t stop the rest of your life from happening. Bills still need to be paid, kids still need care, and work still expects you to show up. That’s why we offer payment plans and flexible fee arrangements, without sacrificing the quality of your defense.
These questions aren’t just a checklist, they’re a roadmap to finding the right lawyer.
An attorney who can confidently answer “yes” to all 10:
That’s the kind of lawyer you want in your corner when your license, your record, and your future are at stake.
In many OWI cases, you have a limited window to act before your license is automatically suspended. Waiting too long can close doors you didn’t even know existed.
If you or someone you love is facing an OWI, DUI, or drunk driving charge in Indiana, don’t gamble with your future. Call the Marc Lopez Law Firm today at 463-238-4579 for a free consultation. We’ve handled thousands of drunk driving cases across Indiana, and we know how to protect what matters most to you.
And remember: always plead the 5th.