Ask Declan: What Should I Ask a DUI Lawyer at the First Consultation?

That question is more honest than most, and more common than people admit. For a lot of adults, a DUI arrest is the first time they've needed a lawyer for anything heavier than a house closing. You're embarrassed. You're worried about work. And you're holding a small stack of paper you never asked for.

In South Carolina, that stack usually includes a ticket with a court date on it. If you refused a breath test or blew 0.15 or higher, it may also include a Notice of Suspension for your license. Those two pieces of paper start two different clocks, and the first meeting with a lawyer is where you find out how fast each one is ticking.

I'm not a lawyer, and nothing here replaces one. What I can do is help you walk into that consultation with better questions than “So, am I going to be okay?” Good questions won't change the facts. They will change how much you understand when you walk back out to your car.

Start with where you are in the process

Before you ask about strategy, get the map. These questions tell you what's urgent this week and what can wait a month.

• Which court is handling my case, and when is the next scheduled date?
• Is there a license-suspension deadline I need to act on right now?
• What exactly am I charged with, and does it count as a first offense?
• If a date changes, who tells me, and how?

The license question matters more than people expect. Under South Carolina's implied consent statute, Section 56-5-2951, a driver who gets a Notice of Suspension generally has 30 days to request an administrative hearing through the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings, which sits within the South Carolina Administrative Law Court. That hearing is separate from the criminal case. Ask the lawyer whether it applies to you and whether they'll handle the request.

Questions about the lawyer across the table

You're interviewing them too. A consultation isn't a favor, even when it's free.

• How much of your practice is DUI defense, and how often are you in this particular court?
• Will you personally handle my case, or will someone else in the office?
• How should I contact you, and how quickly do you usually reply?
• What do you need from me to do your best work?

That second question saves a lot of frustration later. There's nothing wrong with an associate or a paralegal doing parts of the work. You just want to know who to call on a Tuesday afternoon when a letter shows up that you don't understand.

Questions about the evidence

You don't need to know DUI law to ask about the facts. A good lawyer will tell you what they plan to look at and roughly when they'll have it.

• What evidence will the state have, and when will we get to see it?
• Is there likely to be video from the stop, the roadside tests or the breath test room?
• Does anything about the traffic stop itself deserve a closer look?
• Should I write down my own memory of that night, and who should see it?

Write your timeline down anyway, before the details fade, and keep it private until your lawyer tells you what to do with it. Don't post about the arrest. Don't text your friends a play-by-play. It feels like venting. It can read like evidence.

The money conversation

This is the part people are shy about, and it's the part that causes the most regret later. Ask plainly:

• Is the fee flat or hourly, and what does it cover?
• Does it include the license hearing, a trial, or an appeal if it comes to that?
• Which costs sit outside your fee, such as filing fees, expert witnesses or required classes?
• Do you offer a payment plan, and what does it look like?

Get the answer in writing. A clear engagement letter is a good sign. A vague one is a question to ask before you sign, not after. If you're nervous about the cost conversation itself, our Communication section is where we work on exactly that kind of awkward ask.

Tailor the questions to your court and your charge

Everything above is general. Your version has to fit the actual jurisdiction and the actual charge, because the steps, the dates and even the building you'll report to can change depending on where you were stopped and what you were charged with.

If your matter is in Horry County, local procedure and deadlines may matter. Johnny Gardner Law publicly focuses on DUI defense in Conway and other Horry County courts. Someone speaking with a Grand Strand DUI lawyer might begin by asking which court is handling the case, what deadlines apply, what evidence is available, and what needs to happen before the next scheduled date.

The same logic holds far from the Grand Strand. In Canada the charge is usually called impaired driving; in the UK and Australia, drink driving. The names change. The first two questions, which court and which deadline, don't.

The goal of the first meeting is not to hear a guaranteed outcome.

It is to leave knowing: where am I in the process, what matters now, and what happens next?

What to bring to the first meeting

• Every piece of paper from the arrestThe ticket, any Notice of Suspension, bond or release papers. Bring originals and a photo of each.
• What you know about your recordPast tickets, past charges, license status. Guessing wrong here causes surprises later.
• Your written timeline of the nightKept private until the lawyer says otherwise.
• This list of questionsPrinted or on your phone, with room to write the answers.
• Your calendarCourt dates collide with work shifts and childcare. Say so early.