I received a DUI. I have no criminal history, nor any prior traffic violaitons.
I was not planning on driving this night. I went to an event at a hotel and was planning on staying at the hotel. The hotel ended up selling out so a room was not available, so we made a reservation at the closest hotel just up the street. We knew this ahead of time and thought the hotel we were staying at was in walking distance.
After the event the weather changed horribly it turned out the hotel was further than expected, but less than 1 mile. It was an area we were not familiar with and it was just not a good place to walk, high speed highway with no sidewalks.
We needed to get to our hotel and I made the redicoulsly stupid decision to drive less than a mile down the road to our hotel. It turned out the road did not allow left hand turns out of the hotel and our hotel was to the left. I turned right hoping to turn around quickly. There was no option to do so and we were getting further away (less than a mile but I didn't want to be driving, so I did a U turn at a stop light. I was pulled over as U turns were not permitted.
I blew and blew again at the station, over twice the legal limit. I received 4 tickets - one for the U turn, one for improper lane usage (essentially a duplicate of the u turn), one for driving while under the influence of alchol, one for alchol concentation of .08 or more (essentialy another duplicate of the driving while under the influence). So I got four tickets, which I really feel are just two.
Does having 4 tickets versus 2 make any difference, and if so, in what way?
Do I need to hire a lawyer, or will a state appointed lawyer suffice?
I'm remorseful, was very polite and cooperative with the police.
I feel horrible and I'm just wondering if it's worth the extra money to hire a lawyer. It's already going to cost about $16,100 according to the IL website.
I don't know what to do, and if I get a lawyer when do I need to get one - before the first of many court cases ahead?
I was not planning on driving this night. I went to an event at a hotel and was planning on staying at the hotel. The hotel ended up selling out so a room was not available, so we made a reservation at the closest hotel just up the street. We knew this ahead of time and thought the hotel we were staying at was in walking distance.
After the event the weather changed horribly it turned out the hotel was further than expected, but less than 1 mile. It was an area we were not familiar with and it was just not a good place to walk, high speed highway with no sidewalks.
We needed to get to our hotel and I made the redicoulsly stupid decision to drive less than a mile down the road to our hotel. It turned out the road did not allow left hand turns out of the hotel and our hotel was to the left. I turned right hoping to turn around quickly. There was no option to do so and we were getting further away (less than a mile but I didn't want to be driving, so I did a U turn at a stop light. I was pulled over as U turns were not permitted.
I blew and blew again at the station, over twice the legal limit. I received 4 tickets - one for the U turn, one for improper lane usage (essentially a duplicate of the u turn), one for driving while under the influence of alchol, one for alchol concentation of .08 or more (essentialy another duplicate of the driving while under the influence). So I got four tickets, which I really feel are just two.
Does having 4 tickets versus 2 make any difference, and if so, in what way?
Do I need to hire a lawyer, or will a state appointed lawyer suffice?
I'm remorseful, was very polite and cooperative with the police.
I feel horrible and I'm just wondering if it's worth the extra money to hire a lawyer. It's already going to cost about $16,100 according to the IL website.
I don't know what to do, and if I get a lawyer when do I need to get one - before the first of many court cases ahead?
