By Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyer Jeremy Rosenthal
(972) 369-0577
Defending driving while intoxicated case presents a unique challenge to lawyers. This is because long before entering the courtroom, you can detect a stiff headwind of resistance working against you which lasts the entire case.
You get the sense the legislature, lobbyists and victim advocacy groups, and even many jurors don’t stop to consider whether the police are right when they make an arrest. Even the news media runs article after article about how if the courts and police were just meaner and tougher on these cases — they would somehow go away. There is an unmistakable and heavy bias which reaches far beyond whether drunk driving is a problem — and assumes everyone suspected of DWI is guilty.
No one wants drunk drivers on the road. Everyone’s heart breaks for victims of drunk drivers. The vast majority of people respect and trust police which is one of the things that makes Collin County a great place to be. But legislators, activist groups, and police are human. By their very nature, groups with this degree of moral authority tend to make up the rules as they go along — and therein lies the potential for them to badly hurt innocent people in the name of the public good.
I enjoy the challenge of showing jurors that not everyone caught in the wide-cast-net of DWI is a drunk driver. I enjoy showing the jury how the framers of the constitution knew the timeless attitudes of accusers, authority figures, and even society’s tendency to rush to judgment. Most of all, I enjoy the challenge of winning cases where there is a steep up-hill climb with skeptical jurors, difficult police officers, and strict rules limiting our ability to defend the case.
Though I’m probably biased in favor of Collin County jurors, I enjoy trying cases in front of people that live in places like Allen, Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Richardson for the reason they are intelligent and open minded. Without people even willing to listen — having a fair trial anywhere would be impossible.
*Jeremy Rosenthal is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas. Nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice. For legal advice about any situation you should contact an attorney directly. Contacting the attorney through this forum does not create an attorney-client relationship nor are any communications confidential or privileged.
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