Justia Lawyer Rating
badge - California DUI Lawyers Association
badge - California Public Defenders Association
badge - Sacramento County Bar Association
badge - The State Bar of California
badge - United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Evaluating Your Potential as a DUI Witness

DUI WitnessWhen meeting with your lawyer for the first time, he will need to evaluate both your case and your temperament as a potential witness. An experienced Sacramento criminal defense attorney will look for someone whom he feels will put his or her best foot forward in court while working cooperatively to achieve success in the case.

The Interview

Your Sacramento criminal defense attorney will first meet with you to discuss the case and how it may play out with testimony, witnesses, and the jury in court. The attorney will be assessing your ability to present yourself well before the jury, as your demeanor can make or break the case. The jury will not look kindly upon negativity, and will respond positively to a respectful, well-behaved witness.

In addition, the Sacramento criminal defense attorney will want to know whether you can handle the rigors of court. Undergoing cross-examination can be a difficult experience, and the prosecution will not be sparing your feelings. It may be helpful for your potential lawyer to run you through a mock examination in order to get a feel for how you will respond to questioning in court. This will help him make a decision as to how your behavior and performance in court can ultimately help or hinder the case.

Your Testimony

During your initial interview, your Sacramento criminal defense attorney will also want to know how much you actually recall about the incident. Typically, DUI attorneys place witnesses within three brackets:

  1. The first type of witness “blacked out” and recalls nothing at all about the incident. This witness is the least helpful, although recently people have begun using hypnosis to help defendants recall information about the incident.
  2. The second type of witness remembers bits and pieces of the event, and is also not very helpful and can even damage the defense with these lapses in memory. This type of witness may be helped by hypnosis as well.
  3. The third type of witness remembers most, if not all, of the event, and his or her good memories are a welcome addition to the trial for any DUI attorney. Being able to demonstrate excellent recall of the event before a jury will also help demonstrate that you were not intoxicated.
Contact Us

If you are seeking the aid of dedicated Sacramento criminal defense attorneys, get in touch with Param Pabla at (916) 285-7900 to meet with qualified representation as soon as possible.

Client Reviews
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“Mr. Pabla represented me with my DUI case. He has excellent communication skills and always kept me informed. Mr. Pabla made sure I understood the process and my rights. He eased my mind through a very stressful situation. I highly recommend Mr. Pabla.” Gurpreet
★★★★★
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★★★★★
“Param was excellent in my court case of failure to stop at a stop sign. The officer could not see clearly because he was too far away. The officer insisted he could and said he had video but could not produce it at the trial. The officer then asked if he could suspend the trial to go get the video but the judge said he should have had plenty of time to get the video ready beforehand. Needless to say, the judge ruled in my favor and dismissed the case which enraged the officer. Pabla Param’s defense and cross examination skills were excellent and paramount in having the case dismissed. Highly recommended.” T.C.
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