i got another dwi last august .i have bipolar disorder i was macic at the time my lawyer does not want to persue this and offered me 30 days work ferlow ,18 months prob.,and months smart start,and two yrs,susp.lisence and i paid him twice his going rate this has sent into the other side of my disorder ..if your lawyer wont help you what you do he wont give back the money gave him and now i cant afoord an another and lots of other weirld things he has said...thanks
-
Welcome to our legal community! Click here or the create new topic button to ask a question and receive answers and comments from our friendly and helpful legal community.
Articles that answer frequent legal questions are in our Law Guide. Important legal news is reported in The Law JournalYou can find a lawyer near you in the Lawyer Directory. If you know that you need to hire an attorney, you can submit a case review from a lawyer.
Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication bypolar and third dwi
- Thread Starter terlee12
- Start date
- Status
cbg
Super Moderator
What makes you think that having bi-polar disorder makes you exempt from the law?
CdwJava
Moderator
Manic episode or not, if you were legally impaired you were still legally impaired.
If TX allows for an exception based upon a mental defect at the instant of the offense, how would you PROVE that your decision to drive was based upon a manic episode and not simply on judgement that was impaired as a result of the drugs or alcohol you had voluntarily ingested?
I suspect that your attorney did not pursue this tack because he or she knew that it could not be proven. And, rather than run the risk of you suffering the maximum penalties at trial, offered up a plea deal.
If you feel that the attorney did not live up to his contractual agreement you can sue him. But, you will have to show that he failed to uphold his end of the contract and that will be hard to do if you agreed on his rates ahead of time. And, ultimately, if you agreed to a plea deal, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
If TX allows for an exception based upon a mental defect at the instant of the offense, how would you PROVE that your decision to drive was based upon a manic episode and not simply on judgement that was impaired as a result of the drugs or alcohol you had voluntarily ingested?
I suspect that your attorney did not pursue this tack because he or she knew that it could not be proven. And, rather than run the risk of you suffering the maximum penalties at trial, offered up a plea deal.
If you feel that the attorney did not live up to his contractual agreement you can sue him. But, you will have to show that he failed to uphold his end of the contract and that will be hard to do if you agreed on his rates ahead of time. And, ultimately, if you agreed to a plea deal, then you have no one to blame but yourself.
CdwJava
Moderator
You do not understand, a defense of mental defect is an affirmative defense. It is something you have to assert, not something you can simply banty about and hope a jury believes you might have been having an episode for several minutes or an hour, or whatever the time frame. It is doubtful a judge would even allow it to be raised unless you had sufficient proof to show that you were suffering a manic episode at the moment you decided to get into the car while impaired. i doubt that is possible
Unfortunately, you have already pled guilty it seems. How long ago were you sentenced? It may be too late to do anything about any of this.
army judge
Super Moderator
Texas, is tough on DWI charges, especially serial offenders.
What county did you get that deal you spoke about?
That's a pretty good deal.
If you were caught in west Texas or the hill country, you wouldn't have gotten that sweet of a deal.
In the hill country, people go to prison for the third offense.
Your deal wasn't that bad.
I don't know how much you paid. But around my way a good lawyer gets at least $5,000 to $7,500 for a case like yours. Some big shot lawyers cab get double that from some big shot land owners, ranchers, and politicians.
What county did you get that deal you spoke about?
That's a pretty good deal.
If you were caught in west Texas or the hill country, you wouldn't have gotten that sweet of a deal.
In the hill country, people go to prison for the third offense.
Your deal wasn't that bad.
I don't know how much you paid. But around my way a good lawyer gets at least $5,000 to $7,500 for a case like yours. Some big shot lawyers cab get double that from some big shot land owners, ranchers, and politicians.
thanks guys !! now is what was looking for input..... heres the whole deal my wife and i went to birthday party(i was so stressed at the time i thought i was going scream...anyway our total bill was 43.00 dollars and had five beers in 4+ hours bought the birthday guy several beers and a shot and my wife had two beers(i have my receipt) on our way home kelly and i got into a minor argument about my stress level and pulled into a parking lot and shee got out and walked off about that a sien came on cop came up said going on and told him just an argument about my work then the asked me to get out and my wife comes back and is talking to her then another cop shows and wants me submitt to feild sobriety test and a good boy i respectfully declined cuz thats what several lawyers have told me well you automatically go to jail and they said in the report that the probible cause was a 911 call that four black guys (i,m white)had a shotgun in there truck (its legal to have shotgun in your truck in texas) but they in to target parking lot cuz they saw my wife get out and my lawyer was suppose to file a motion to suppress there p.c. and he said could possibly get atemped dwi but has done nothing but take my money
Proserpina
Moderator
I think you need AA as well as counseling.
how does aa help ? i have not had any alcahol since this happen i,m not an alcaholic i,m bypolar i dont have addictive personality only when i get stressed to the max sorry if i dont handle stress well and i dont think you know what your talkin about you just dont have anything constructive to say..so dont say anything...its better to be silent and let them think your a moron then to open your mouth and remove all doubt
Proserpina
Moderator
Oh, I doubt any of the other seniors would disagree with what I said.
3 DUIs = an alcohol problem.
Attending AA would actually HELP you in court. I'm sorry you don't understand that.
3 DUIs = an alcohol problem.
Attending AA would actually HELP you in court. I'm sorry you don't understand that.
Proserpina
Moderator
Because the COURT appreciates the EFFORT.
The COURT appreciates when an addict makes the effort to either go to rehab or attend AA/NA/GA/whichever without having been ordered to do so.
You have a problem. You need to fix it.
And please don't tell me that I don't understand. Because I understand a whole lot more than you can even vaguely gauge.
i did fix it !!!!!!!!!! i dont drink anymore !!!!! dont need it !! dont want it !!! its my bypolar that needs to be monitored i have been taking meds for it since this happened and they are working for just fine and if you dont get it then read up on bypolar disorder and maybe you can be objective enough to give some sound advice..thanks
Proserpina
Moderator
It's "bipolar", and it's likely not going to get you out of your situation, okay?
I can only recommend an attorney and a therapist at this point.
I can only recommend an attorney and a therapist at this point.
It's a legal help site. It is not a referral site unless you use the "Find Lawyers" link. When an issue is very complex, or an OP is best served by retaining an attorney, then an attorney is recommended. When an OP dislikes/disputes the advice he is given, then an attorney is also recommended.
In your case, the officer and your lawyer did you a favor. A bipolar person who refuses to take his medication, and self-medicates instead, shouldn't be driving a car!
BTW, your wife's name is Kelly and you're from Texas? Does she post on forums too? Does she also show an avoidance to using capitalization or punctuation with any regularity? Just curious...
cbg
Super Moderator
In case you haven't caught on yet, having bi-polar disorder does not exempt you from following the law, nor does it make you immune from penalty if you are caught driving while impaired. Regardless of whether you were drinking or not, your lawyer kept you out of jail. I'd say he did a pretty good job for you.
- Status
Share this page
