This scenario may not happen to you, but read along with these particular events and how they may have altered the outcome of a Driving Under the Influence court case.

Months of preparations had led up to the inevitable date when I was to have my fate decided by a District Court judge. Some of that preparation included driving education classes, self help courses directed to drivers that had been charged with DUI or DWI, and countless billable hours with an attorney. My attorney was good at what she does though, so I am confident a decent outcome will ensue.

There are particulars around the case that I will not disclose, however, the judicial system in this country should be heavily scrutinized and modernized to take into account the 21st century. Many of the steps required to appease the System is painful and costly.

One the steps required is to visit a counselor judge that will make a determination if a temporary work drive permit can be granted. This allows for you to drive from home to work and back during certain hours of the day. On that day my attorney had a conflict and could not make it. I did not find out until another attorney I recognized appeared as I waited for my name to be called.

The attorney that arrived was my divorce attorney from the same law firm. It was a small firm and another civil defense attorney wasn’t available. So someone that had never assisted in the request for this temporary permit was there on my behalf. In short, I was left to represent myself and my attorney only asked curiosity questions. If it weren’t for the numerous questions I had asked my civil attorney about the process, I would have had no idea on what to say and more than likely no ride to work!

As the anxiety grew over the passing weeks, the big date did arrive. Hopefully, the stigma surrounding not being able to drive yourself from place to place freely will be lifted. Low and behold as I sat awaiting the morning role call of defendants, the bench only got colder when my divorce attorney arrived once again. Noticeably in awe, she informed me that it would be okay, she was only there to request a postponement based on the fact that my civil attorney was involved in a high profile murder trial and the judge on that case refused to relieve her.

This would have been suitable until we got into the court room and cases were being called. I informed my attorney that the arresting officer was not present. Judges and State’s Attorneys alike hate when they don’t arrive as the likelihood of the case being thrown out is high. My attorney froze. She had no idea what to request and expressed her fear in requesting for an immediate trial in case the judge overlooked the fact the State had no witnesses.

Against my repeated requests, she made no calls, received no advice and proceeded to request the postponement. The State’s Attorney actually gasped and chuckled after the request was made. I had seen her disgust when another officer was telling her the arresting officer on her next case was not going to be there.

Now I can’t say for sure that the case wouldn’t have been postponed anyway by the judge to give an opportunity for the officer to make a subsequent date, but the restless nights began. Ultimately, my case did arrive again, my attorney did make it this time and a Probation Before Judgement (PBJ) was granted. This was the anticipated outcome from the start, but it was very likely that the charges would have been dropped entirely.

I can’t say enough that I wish I would have used a larger firm, and guaranteed a civil defense on the day I had anxiously awaited for so long. Time has since passed and the probationary period is over without additional incident, but knowing I could have avoided 18 months of butterflies each and every time I saw a patrol vehicle on the road, I still lost many a night’s sleep over it.