DWI Case Fees

The big question in the beginning when choosing to hire a DWI Defense Attorney often revolves around how much will the overall fee be. This answer is very difficult to answer without hearing more about the facts of your case, as every situation differs. Any DWI case could be different based on the court you are in, based on the county, based on the facts of the case, based on the level of severity of the charge, etc.

At The Law Offices of Carl David Ceder we try to offer professional, high quality legal services at an affordable rate. We fully realize individuals do not usually plan on being arrested for a charge of Driving While Intoxicated, then be forced to bond out of jail, often get their car out of a tow yard, and then hire an Attorney to contest the case in proper fashion. While noting all of these factors, rates usually vary based on the nature and complexity of a given case.  However, we always offer flexible payment plans for those in need. Our office accepts cash, check, money order, and also payment by all major credit cards through our credit card processor, LawPay.  Clients can always use the link to our office with the link:

• https://pay1.plugnpay.com/bpl/lp1922622.   

DWI Case Fees

Each and every case is unique, so it is difficult for us to list out our fees on a "one-size fits all" basis. Carl or someone on his staff will go over all possible legal fees after hearing more specific factors of your case.  Our fees are almost always quoted on a "flat-fee" basis. To read more about this, please review further information HERE.  By analyzing the facts of your case, you will know before about how much it will cost for us to represent you. If you start calling around reviewing possible attorneys, you will discover most criminal defense attorneys utilize a flat-fee for their services as well. This is contrary to an hourly fee, which is commonly used by civil attorneys. We have a preference for the flat-fee method, which enables our clients to know just how much their representation will cost from the very beginning - and it is done to assist the client in billing. You will not receive a bill for every e-mail, phone call, court appearance, etc. If it was actually done in this fashion, the overall fee charged would surely be much higher. Thus, this method works to the advantage of the client.  Our experience with hourly fees is that a person usually believes they are being taken advantage of. The client by no means knows if the time is even appropriate, and none of us want to see a $200 bill for a mere phone call to answer a question.

Our fees

We try to keep our fees competitive with other knowledge, professional, and trained DWI Defense Attorneys in Texas. Overall, and generally speaking, our fees likely would fall in the middle, to the upper range, of fees incurred by other Texas DWI Defense Attorneys. We are not the lowest priced law firm you can find, nor do we attempt to be. If we were, we would most likely have more clients than is manageable, and not be able to give you the personalized attention you deserve.

If fees are your solitary concern, and you are looking for the least expensive attainable attorney you can obtain at the absolute cheapest cost, we are most likely not the law firm for you. But, as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for!” On the flip side, we are certainly not the most expensive attorneys around either. We are fully aware that anytime an individual is seeking to hire a DWI Defense Attorney; it is more often than not an unexpected expense. We will work with you within reason and set-up a payment plan with you if when the situation dictates.

Pre-Trial and Trial Fees

With most of our cases, we use a pre-trial fee, plus trial fee structure. To read more about why the TRIAL FEE is charged, please read more HERE. It means your initial fee will include our representation of you through all court appearances, most hearings, several meetings with you, review of all the evidence and usually a DWI video review session and an analysis of your case. If after examining all of the evidence and any pre-trial offers which may have been made, you will need to make a decision whether or not you want to go to trial or not. To read more about whether this is a viable option, please read more HERE.  There will be an additional charge for a trial. We use the pre-trial fee with a possible trial fee structure in order to charge a fair amount based upon the work and time needed to prepare for your case. Naturally, trial preparation and the actual trial is altogether more time-consuming, and this fee structure contemplates this.

Pre-Trial Fee

This nominal fee is for your our representation to begin to start and initially begin your case to get the ball rolling. We will look at all the aspects of your DWI arrest, charges, and any evidence the prosecution may have. As you may already be aware, if you have contact The Law Offices of Carl David Ceder for a consultation, there are several main points to consider in your case that must be dealt with:

• Your point of view as to what happened that led to your arrest;
• The arresting officer’s point of view as to what happened that led to your arrest;
• Any video recordings before, during and after your DWI arrest;
• Then possibly, any Standardized Field Sobriety Tests or Chemical Tests (Breath and/or Blood) test results that may have been associated with your arrest.

All of this must be investigated thoroughly in order to determine the best plan to mount the best defense possible. It is extremely vital to seek to look for inaccuracies in the breath test machine, errors in any documentation, and any of your rights the arresting officer may have violated. Any dispute between the evidence the District Attorney's Office has to utilize against you, needs to be reviewed thoroughly to try and point out to a jury any reasonable doubt as to your guilt. Therefore, if there is doubt in at least one or more of your case points, it very well could render a more favorable outcome for the citizen accused.

There is always a vast majority of work that will need to be carried out on your case. Simply put, there are three major parts of your DWI case; your side of the story, the police version and the video tapes. If you had taken a breath or blood test, then there is a fourth piece: whether the integrity of either sample was properly maintained. Once all of the pieces are compiled, we will fit them together as best as possible to try and analyze your case the best we can. We will look for the legal or factual issues that we can attack at court to prevent you from being convicted or to formulate a reasonable doubt about your guilt. In addition to this, an experienced and trained Texas DWI Defense should thoroughly review the official charging documents and review the court’s file of your case.

If there is an oversight that would warrant a dismissal of the charges against you, your Texas DWI Defense Attorney should find it out. Our office will also start conversing with the District Attorney assigned to your case, so we can obtain all of the discoverable information in your case. We gather all the facts that support your version of the traffic stop, field sobriety testing, testing conditions, interrogation and videotaping. We will also start to develop a strategy to combat facts that are unfavorable to your defense. While we are conversing with the District Attorney’s Office, we will begin to discuss a recommendation for a plea bargain disposition of your case. This is performed as an insurance policy for your case. Whatever we negotiate for will be the worst possible consequence of your case, and it will only get better as your case continues through the system.

As soon as applicable, we will obtain all of the videos of your arrest. In some cases, there are videos taken at the scene of your stop, and sometimes there are videos taken at the jail. We will get copies of any and all videos taken of you throughout your arrest. Right after all of your information has been compiled; we will send this information to you so you can also review of all of the evidence and discuss the options for disposition of your case. We will examine all of the reports, videotapes and negotiations with the District Attorney.  We will evaluate all of your options, and attempt to convey a realistic scenario as what to expect if you enter a plea bargain agreement, and what your chances of winning are if you select to have a trial.

If you elect to plea your case, this fee will include our appearance with you in court before the judge. At the hearing, we will carry on to negotiate your punishment in every way we can. We will appear before the judge and appear again to try and obtain any further concessions that may be attainable. Our office will continue to be available all throughout your probation to help you in successfully complete all of the conditions ordered.

Trial Fee

You will only have this fee if you want to go to trial as part of your DWI attorney representation. To read more about why a trial fee is charged, please read more HERE. The Law Offices of Carl David Ceder, tries many cases each year, and is one of only a few attorneys who have successfully tried both breath and blood test cases and obtained an acquittal ("Not Guilty verdict). Trials can be cumbersome and time-consuming - in my respects, it is an endurance test both for your DWI Defense Attorney, and for the citizen accused. This fee is to cover the hard work, preparation, and dedication to your DWI trial. Also, due to the way cases are put on the docket in most courts in Texas, your DWI attorney has to be ready to on every trial setting, even it ultimately does not go on any given day. To read more about the overall DWI case process, please read HERE. To read more about DWI Jury Trials in Texas, please read more HERE.

Once your case finally makes it to trial (either Judge or Jury), you can expect it to last the duration of probaly at least two, but perhaps more, days in trial. You will be the The Law Offices of Carl David Ceder only focus while your trial is in progress. All of our attention and efforts will be placed on trying to obtain the best outcome. Not all clients will require this fee because they may not wish to set their case on a trial docket. Preparing for and representing for a full trial on the merits does take a significant quantity of time and effort that is not necessary with any other representation. There are many trials set on the same date. On the court date, the court will select the cases to be tried for the day. The other cases will be reset for another trial date.

Because of this as your attorney, we must be well prepared for every single trial date and make sure we block off the time for your case to be tried. A typical trial will last 1-2 days, but this could be subject to change based on differing factors. While we are in court, we will not have any other clients present. We will be with you from beginning until the very end. This will help many clients, as trials can be a restless, scary, and confusing process if you haven't been through one in the past. Trial skills are learned through experience and training. The attorneys at our office have tried any DWI case there is. This experience is a valuable asset for you in your defense and simply cannot be taken for granted.

Contact Us Now

You can contact The Law Offices of Carl David Ceder at anytime for assistance at 214.702.CARL(2275) or at 469.2000.DWI(394). You can also e-mail Carl directly, at Carl@CederLaw.com; or to the office for general inquiries at Info@DFWDefenders.com. Phones should be answered 24 hours a day/7 days a week for immediate and prompt assistance. E-mail messages will try to be responded to with 24-48 hours, depending on whether Carl and his team is in trial and/or is busy working on a case for a contested hearing.