A DWI charge can carry stiff penalties that affect your personal and professional life, which is why we always recommend that you hire a lawyer to go over all your options. Making your case in front of a judge and seeing if you’re found innocent or guilty is certainly one approach, but that’s not always the wisest decision. In some scenarios, your best move is to connect with the prosecution to see if there’s any potential for a plea deal. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the benefits of accepting a plea deal in your DWI case.
Why Pursue A Plea Deal
We’ll always attempt to win a case outright in court for our client if that’s the route they choose, but don’t ignore the possibility of a plea deal. For the right client, a plea deal can be the smartest move. Here’s a look at some of the benefits of agreeing to a plea deal.
Pleading To A Lesser Charge – In many DWI cases where a plea deal is reached, the defendant pleads down to a reckless driving charge or a “wet reckless,” both of which are much less severe than a DWI conviction. Moreover, there is a much different social stigma to a reckless driving conviction compared to a DWI conviction, so you may find that the potential penalties and related fallout are minimized when you plead down to a lesser charge.
Some Control Over Penalties – Although the plea deal needs to be agreed to by the judge overseeing the case, a plea deal does give you some freedom in negotiating potential penalties for your conviction. If you really want to stay out of jail, you may use your willingness to plead guilty as a bargaining chip in order to push for specific sentences, like probation or community service. We can help push for a plea deal that ensures you avoid some specific penalties or outcomes.
Avoiding Worst Case Scenarios – By pleading to a lesser charge, you take some of the unknown out of the equation. You never know what the judge will hand down as a sentence, so you’re playing with fire if you take the case to court. Taking a plea deal and hammering out some potential penalties removes uncertainty from your case.
You Gain Some Leverage – You may feel like you have little defense to your DWI charge, but you regain some leverage if you broach the subject of a plea deal. Prosecutors want to win cases and clear them from their schedule, so if they can get another case removed from their docket that ends without an acquittal, that’s a win for them. They are interested in getting your case off their load, and knowing this can give you a small bargaining chip during the plea negotiations process at a time when you may feel like you don’t have much of a defense.
Brings Case To A Close – Agreeing to a plea deal means your case won’t stretch out any longer and you won’t need to keep paying your lawyer to prep a defense and argue your case in court. If you’re just ready for your case to be over, consider a plea deal.
Again, we never want to push clients into a plea deal when we feel like there’s a real opportunity to earn a dismissal, but know that you have other options aside from making your case in court and hoping a judge rules in your favor. We look at all angles to ensure we do right by our clients.
To experience that professionalism first hand, connect with the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
