More than 94 percent of car accidents involve human error, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That means the vast majority of collisions are avoidable if drivers behave responsibly, follow traffic laws and maintain their vehicles.
Riding a motorcycle is both a thrilling and convenient way to commute. The excitement of riding, lower gas costs and cheaper maintenance are attractive to young riders; however, motorcyclists are far more likely to suffer injuries in a crash than passenger vehicle occupants.
Getting the jurors in a DUI case to trust and like your Michigan DWI lawyer can be half the battle. It's the lawyer's job to get the jury to forget about the defendant and focus on whether the State has met its burden of proof.
The more organized and knowledgeable your Michigan DWI lawyer appears to be about all of the cases aspects, the more likely it is that your case will end well. That begins by being extremely prepared and presentable before the jury enters the courtroom, continues with introducing himself to them, and ends with the savvy to know that it is most important for the jury to understand that:
Efforts to be overly tough and adversarial end up being far less important than being able to convince the jurors that your lawyer is worthy of the juror's acceptance and belief.
In many respects, the trial is similar to an election: which people and which theory will the jurors vote for? Your Michigan DWI lawyer must present himself in a way that, at best, impresses the jurors and, at a minimum, does not alienate them. The lawyer's attitude needs to be confident, but not cocky, abrasive, or condescending. All of your lawyer's interactions with the jurors should be respectful and this cannot be overemphasized cogent and understandable. If the jurors cannot follow the lawyer's theory of the evidence, the theory cannot possibly seem more realistic than the prosecution's theory.
Remember that the jurors are probably anxious about taking part in the DUI case and nervous about their responsibility. Anything your Michigan DWI lawyer does to make them feel more comfortable will help. In essence, the lawyer should appear to the jurors as someone they can identify with, and with whom they would be comfortable talking in a social situation.
Experience counts. Call the Law Offices of Christopher Trainor & Associates at 800-961-8477.
Yes, it is your trial, but your Michigan DWI attorney may have many good reasons for not putting you on the stand. Either way, the jury selection process is key to making sure the decision does not end up alienating the jurors.
The selection process can help your Michigan DWI attorney learn how the potential jurors feel about this issue. Some jurors have a knee jerk reaction that only guilty people do not want to testify. Others understand that there are plenty of good reasons that people do not testify. An experienced attorney can get a pretty good idea of which prospective jurors feel which way.
If you would not be testifying, the selection process also allows your attorney to educate the jurors about the many reasons an innocent defendant might still choose not to testify, starting with the obvious fact that there probably is a very good reason that the country founders decided not to require that defendants testify.
Fear of public speaking is very common and something most jurors can understand. In fact, many of the potential jurors are probably experiencing that very fear during the selection process. Your Michigan DWI attorney can emphasize that by acknowledging his own nervousness, even after all his experience in a courtroom. Having set the stage, the attorney can follow up with specific questions that make the jurors focus on their own fears:
Juror: Some, I guess.
Michigan DWI attorney: Really? They were just questions. What made you nervous? Juror: I am not really used to this; it is my first time in a court room. I suppose I did not want to say something, you know, wrong or inappropriate.
Having established that the potential juror really did get nervous, your attorney can shift focus directly to the prosecutor. For example, while pointing toward the prosecutor, the attorney asks:
Juror: Yes, I would probably be nervous.
Juror: Yes, I would be nervous about saying something wrong.
Juror: I would be nervous for sure.
Get an experienced Michigan DWI attorney to speak for you. Contact the Law Offices of Christopher Trainor & Associates, 800-961-8477.
Most car accidents are traumatic, but no experience can match the devastation of losing a child. Unfortunately, this scenario is more common than many people realize. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at least 1,200 children aged 14 or younger died in pedestrian crashes in 2013.
Despite awareness campaigns that expose the dangers of drunk driving, an unacceptable number of motorists choose to consume alcohol before hitting the road. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 28 people lose their lives every day because of intoxicated drivers; this equates to one death every 53 minutes.