It depends doesn't it? DWIs are the easiest because the statements all say the same thing, but there is always a DVD. So the jury can see that you're client wasn't swaying and wasn't slurring his words and so on and so forth. That is why DWIs only have a about a fifty percent conviction rate for those that actually go to trial.
If you're practicing in a jurisdiction where there's always a DVD of a DUI investigation, then that means the majority of your DUI clients are pleading out. No wonder you've got a 50% win rate for those that go to trial.
I said 54% of the ones that went to trial, not all of them. Of course, I find the limiting factor on DUIs going to trial is more cost than anything else. Few people want to shell out $7,500 or $10,000 for a misdemeanor DWI trial. But those who do...I get good results for in a nice percentage of the cases. My main jurisdiction allows no dismissals, pleas to lesser charges or anything like that. You will plea guilty or go to trial. You get a bench trial at the lower level and a de novo appeal. It is like free discovery and an opportunity to get the po po under oath. The next level is a mandatory jury trial. Well, it isn't mandatory but none of the judges will do a bench trial on a DWI at that level. The last two I've tried, I've won at the lower level, including one where my client admitted to drinking eight beers.
