DUI defense really is an area that merits specialization. In fact, the American Bar Association recognized DUI law as a specialty area in 2003. Because both science and technology play such important roles in DUI law, it is important that the Michigan DUI lawyer you retain is more than just a criminal defense lawyer with a standard law school education and license to practice law. This is especially true if you want to avoid a guilty conviction. When you contact a Michigan DUI attorney, find out if he or she is a member of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD).
The National College for DUI Defense, Inc. has recognized an emerging practice area within the criminal defense bar for those defenders who represent individuals accused of driving under the influence of intoxicants and other related crimes and the need for specialized education to practice in the practice area. The primary mission and purpose of the College is to promote the public welfare by providing a higher level of training in this unique area of criminal defense law.
According to NCDD:
Few offenses in America’s criminal justice process call for greater attorney expertise than cases involving driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. DUI cases are especially complex because they require defense counsel to understand scientific, as well as legal processes. The legal issues are wide-ranging, involving search and seizure, due process, illegal interrogation, denial of counsel, and evidentiary issues. These legal issues intersect in a DUI case with scientific areas of expertise, such as anatomy, biology, chemistry, physiology, and toxicology, as well as pseudo-scientific areas such as field sobriety testing. DUI defense counsel must also have a working understanding of the operation of breath test equipment, hospital testing equipment, and instruments utilized by forensic laboratories in the process of testing for intoxicants.
Not every lawyer can become a member of the NCDD; there are minimum standards of competence and expertise among attorneys practicing DUI defense law that is required. And further, there are other eligibility criteria such as “extensive experience trying DUI cases and litigating pre-trial issues, a broad knowledge of the science involved in testing for intoxicants, and a command of the legal process on which DUI cases are framed.”
Michigan DUI lawyers who are members of NCDD receive the opportunity to receive “the finest advanced-level training available to the DUI Defense Law practitioner,” according to the College, which offers, or co-sponsors, a minimum of three legal and scientific seminars each year.
The Summer Session, conducted at the Harvard Law School in July, is the signature program to develop skills for trial, including methods for attacking field sobriety tests, breath and blood tests, for making opening statements and closing arguments, for learning techniques in cross-examining police officers and prosecution experts, and for developing and using defense expert witnesses.
If the attorney you speak with about your DUI case is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, then you can be certain, at a minimum, that he or she is serious about practicing Michigan DUI defense law.
