I grew up wanting to be a criminal attorney. I changed my mind after my first DUI case. I went to a small unaccredited law school. This meant I could take the bar exam but I would not have the job offers graduates from ABA accredited schools would get. But that was all right. I figured I would break into criminal law somehow.

But going to a small unaccredited law school also meant the government would not be quick to offer me a position either. But I only wanted to graduate so I could take the bar exam. I figures I could think later about finding a lawyer job.

However, the practical experience in criminal law came from working for the government. Most criminal attorneys working in the private sector started as a deputy public defender or deputy district attorney. And I was not going be able to break into that area coming from a small school. On top of that when I graduated the state had a hiring freeze because of budget constraints. About a year later however, the freeze was lifted for one opening. I interviewed and scored an 88 out of a possible 100. This was not good enough to land the only opening in a year with all the competition out there I knew.

Two days late I received a notice in the mail that the hiring freeze was back in effect. The county had not even filled the one position before the freeze was back in place. I decided to take a course in drunk driving defense. What I learned seemed easy enough to put into practice.

I ran a small ad in my local shopper after I finished the course. It cost me twenty five dollars a week. My phone started ringing off the hook. I never realized how many people get arrested for drunk driving. I went to court with my first client in the municipal court of the city I grew up in. Across the street was the college I graduated in. I had never been in their courtrooms.

This was my client’s first offense so he was looking at any jail time. And his alcohol level at the time of his arrest was above the legal limit. There was nothing for me to contest. But I was there basically to hold his hand during the process. But I did want to go through the steps I learned in my class. I approached the deputy district attorney at the opposite side of the courtroom and waited patiently while she chatted with the courtroom bailiff.

Once done, the bailiff looked me up and down turned her nose up and walked away. I asked the deputy district attorney to confirm the charge against my client and asked her the sentence the state would agree to. I learned to do this in class. She rearranged her papers and without looking my way said I will learn when the judge started the case.

The female judge treated me with respect and even smiled when she talked to me. I assumed she came up the ranks of the public defenders office. The bailiff and the deputy district attorney made me feel like I was on trial however. Since it was my client’s first offense he was given the minimum penalty. He had his license suspended for one year. But I was able to have him able to drive legally if he was going to and from work and while at work since his job required that he drive. But that was my first and last criminal court case. I realized as criminal attorney I had to expect to be treated like the one who was on trial. And that is not what I expected and not what I want in my career.

Having a well experienced criminal lawyer Fort Lauderdale is greatly beneficial to the case. A Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney will use their expertise to fight for your welfare, guaranteeing the best possible outcomes.