Costs of a Memphis DUI Attorney
This is a heck of a question. It’s something anyone who gets charged with drunk driving wants to know. Unfortunately there is no definite answer, and attorneys aren’t real big on publicly stating their fees. Usually you’re going to get the old lawyer standby, “it depends,” followed by a recitation of factors such as how complex the case might be, which court it’s in, does the accused have any prior record, and whether a chemical test was taken by police.
I’ll tell you this. As a general rule, in this market, you should expect to pay at least a couple thousand dollars or so initially to your lawyer (and probably more later on). The hard reality is that anything less than that and you’re probably not dealing with someone who will give you quality representation. Now if it’s a good case (for you), and the state has some serious weaknesses, it might just go away pretty quickly and you don’t pay anything else. I would call that money well spent. That doesn’t happen too often, only occasionally. And “pretty quickly” in the legal world means a few months, probably. Don’t expect for your case to be wrapped up in a court date or two.
That is a best case scenario, but I always tell people to look at worst case first. Worst case, cost-wise, is that it goes to trial. Trials are complicated and require much preparation. How far do you want to take your DUI case? Are you willing and ready to fight all the way? If so, how much will this cost? For a jury trial I think around $7500-$10,000 is what you will be paying. Again, if a lawyer tells you less than that then he or she isn’t going to put in the time, or they’re just not experienced enough to understand how much work it will take. Now that’s for a basic, first-offense DUI with no complicating factors like a high BAC or any medical issues. And if someone was injured or killed, expect to pay a lot more.
All cases are different, but I think these are some general guidelines for this market. If you’ve been charged with drunk driving, you probably have lots of questions and no idea where to start. Start by calling me, Memphis DUI attorney Patrick Stegall. I can explain what options you have available, the best and worst-case scenarios, and yes how much it will cost.
