Noblesville DUI Leaving the Scene Attorney
Being arrested for DUI and charged with leaving the scene in Noblesville can be daunting. You may be concerned about your driver’s license, your job, your insurance premiums, and whether jail time is inevitable. A Noblesville DUI leaving the scene lawyer can intervene right away, protect your rights, and start crafting a defense designed to preserve your future.
The issues are magnified when you’re accused of both. Prosecutors love to tell juries that you must have caused the crash because you were drunk, and you must have been guilty of something if you left. However, that’s only the case if their version of events goes unchallenged.
About Us
The Criminal Defense Team of Baldwin Perry & Wiley P.C. proudly serves clients across Noblesville and Hamilton County. There are only six Board-Certified* Criminal Trial Specialists in the entire State of Indiana, and five are employed here at The Criminal Defense Team. For clarity, not all of our attorneys are Board-Certified.* Five of them are.
When your liberty and reputation are on the line, experience and dedication matter; you would never trust just any doctor to perform complex surgery. You want someone who specializes in that specific procedure. High-level criminal defense is no different.
Our Approach
The Criminal Defense Team collectively has over 100 years of experience, and every case is assigned two attorneys and a paralegal. This allows us to meticulously comb through police body camera footage, dash cam videos, toxicology reports, and digital evidence. While many practices struggle to manage large discovery files with dozens of documents, let alone video files, we have the staff to handle them.
Also on staff is a former deputy prosecutor who worked in the felony division and tried homicides. His knowledge gives us a unique ability to review how the state can build felony cases as well as identify any weak links in the state’s evidence against you. We even hold internal team consultations and have a lawyer on call 24/7, so you can speak to an attorney at any time if something urgent comes up.
Understanding Noblesville DUI Leaving the Scene Laws
Indiana’s drunk driving statute is Indiana Code 9-30-5. A person will be considered intoxicated to drive under this statute if they drive a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more. Someone can also be considered intoxicated if they drive in a way that makes them unsafe.
A person can be charged with leaving the scene of an accident under Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1. Those statutes state that when you are involved in an accident that results in injury, death, or property damage, you must stop your vehicle and provide identifying information as well as reasonable assistance.
It isn’t hard to see how these charges may coincide. Even with both charges, the prosecution must establish every element of each crime. For DUI, they must prove that you were driving, that you were intoxicated as defined by law, and that you knew or should have known your alcohol was impairing your driving. For leaving the scene, they must prove that an accident occurred and that you left the scene without fulfilling your legal duties.
Indiana Statistics
In Indiana, 227 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes in 2023. Driving while intoxicated causes roughly 28 percent of all fatal crashes in our state. There were 1,481 impaired driving arrests made in Hamilton County that same year.
DUI Leaving the Scene Penalties
As with all criminal charges in Indiana, the penalties depend on the circumstances of your arrest. In the fortunate scenario where the DUI is a first offense without any aggravating factors, the charge is often reduced to a Class C misdemeanor. Penalties increase if there are aggravating factors such as endangerment or exceptionally high BAC levels, or if you have prior convictions.
Leaving the scene can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on whether injury or death occurred. Common penalties include:
- Jail/prison
- Large fines
- License suspension
- Substance abuse evaluation/treatment
- Probation
- Ignition interlock device
These penalties do not include professional license suspensions, impacts on employment, or higher insurance rates. Business owners, contractors, medical professionals, and other licensed workers in Noblesville should also consider how a conviction might impact their reputations.
When to Hire a DUI Leaving the Scene Lawyer
Ideally, you should hire a DUI leaving the scene lawyer as soon as possible. Everything you say to the police, write on social media, and tell others about your arrest can and will be used against you later in court. With an early start, your Noblesville DUI leaving the scene attorney can step in to talk to the police and help prevent you from inadvertently saying something that could be used against you.
Your lawyer can scrutinize the way your field sobriety tests were given, as well as whether the chemical tests followed Indiana’s rules, and whether the police had a legitimate reason for the stop and arrest.
Felony and most misdemeanor cases are heard at the Hamilton County Judicial Center at 1 Hamilton County Square, Noblesville, IN 46060. Our team can explain how local bonds are argued, what plea deals are offered, and how judges like to be approached at trial. We can explain the complex judicial process. We’re here to assist with the entire defense process.
How We Can Help
A DUI leaving the scene charge is much more than a traffic ticket. It threatens your freedom, your driving privileges, and your reputation. You don’t have to face it alone. These charges require undivided attention and a well-thought-out legal plan.
The Criminal Defense Team has five Board-Certified* Criminal Trial Specialists under one roof and nearly 100 years of combined experience. We have designed our law firm to achieve success with complex cases for our clients in Noblesville and across Hamilton County. Each case is staffed by two attorneys and a paralegal who carefully read through every detail of the evidence presented by prosecutors.
Plus, we’re always available, with a lawyer ready to help around the clock. Our experience working together and our former chief felony prosecutor mean we know how cases like yours are built and how they can be defeated.
Contact The Criminal Defense Team
Hire a DUI leaving the scene lawyer in Noblesville who has experience achieving results for clients just like you. Contact The Criminal Defense Team today and learn how we can help.
*Andrew Baldwin, Kathie Perry, Maxwell Wiley, Kelly Pyle, and Michael C. Cunningham are Board-Certified* Criminal Trial Specialists, as certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Find out why having a Board-Certified* Criminal Trial Specialist as your defense lawyer is important here.