Kitsap County DUI Defense, Port Orchard DUI Defense & Bremerton DUI Defense

Kitsap County DUI Defense. In the Kitsap County District Court, they rotate which judges are assigned to hear DUI cases. However, it is the same prosecutor’s office as for Port Orchard Municipal. Kitsap County Prosecutor’s office has a new elected prosecutor as of 2019. The previous had switched from a “reasonable doubt” standard to a “probable cause” standard in filing for all cases. That is to say, previously that office only filed cases that they believed they could convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred. Under her leadership, they had switched to filing cases that they believe they can convince a Judge that there is probable cause—a minimal level of evidence of a crime—to file a case. While this may seem outrageous if you are wrongly accused of a crime because of this low standard, it also means that the prosecutor may not have the strongest case against you. It is unclear what changes the newly elected prosecutor will make.

Bremerton DUI Defense. Bremerton maintains its own municipal court. James Doctor is the long term, very knowledgeable and experienced Judge that presides over DUI, and all criminal, matters there. The prosecutor’s office, the City Attorney for Bremerton, is an even handed, well trained professional cadre of skilled attorneys. You may not get the result you want without a fight, but you are likely to get a fair result.

It is important for your DUI defense lawyer to know the particular Judges, prosecutors and procedures of the various courts. It is also important for all potential clients to know that time is of the essence in DUI cases. Evidence can be lost in hours and/or days. It is very important to contact a DUI defense attorney as soon as possible to discuss your case to make sure all your options are covered.

Port Orchard DUI Defense. In Port Orchard Municipal Court, Judge Timothy A. Drury presides over DUI, and all criminal cases. Port Orchard Municipal Court contracts the prosecution of DUI cases, and all criminal cases, with the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office. They have years of experience and have handled hundreds or even thousands of similar cases and will be very diligent in their preparation. That said, hard work and a thorough analysis by Smith and White’s DUI lawyers can win you a reduction in charge. Like most prosecutor’s offices, the prosecutor will analysis three main factors when prioritizing DUI’s. Your driving, impairment and priors. In fact, with a prior, absent an exceptionally strong legal challenge, the prosecution absolutely will not reduce the charge and you must fight the DUI or do the mandatory 30 or 45 days jail and other draconian measures imposed on a second offense DUI.

While most courts will not consider a reduction of a DUI to a lesser charge without an chemical dependency assessment, both Kitsap and Port Orchard also require a Defensive Driving School (8 hrs). Therefore, at a minimum, you’ll need to compete the evaluation, 8 hours of alcohol and drug information school (ADIS) and the victim’s impact panel (VIP) along with 8 hours of defensive driving school (DDS) if you want to have a reckless or negligent driving.

SERVING YOU FROM OUR MAIN OFFICE IN TACOMA, WA. For an initial consultation with our Tacoma DUI defense lawyers, call Smith & White at 253-363-8662. Or email [email protected].