The lawyer that you choose if you get arrested can make all the difference in the world. Because of their knowledge of the law, the penalties assessed to you can be diminished – or occasionally completely avoided. That’s one of the reasons that it’s absolutely imperative that you get help at the beginning of the process – before the arraignment – than after. The arraignment process is the first formal setting where you plead guilty or not guilty.

Le’Veon Bell, a running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers, had smoked marijuana and had marijuana in his vehicle. The police arrested him for DUI, but his lawyer is helping him apply for first-offender charges. The first offender’s program has the chance of getting the charges dismissed and expungement of Bell’s record.

This doesn’t mean that he won’t have to pay for his offenses. There will be nearly $2000 in court costs, participation in a state-mandated drunk driving school, consistent evaluation for drugs and alcohol, group therapy, and regular court assessments and possible treatment for his crimes. As soon as his eligibility is determined for the program, his probation will begin. If everything works out well, then the expungement process can start.

It’s likely that Bell will be facing at least a two game suspension once the criminal part of his court case concludes. There was about ¾ of an ounce of marijuana found in the vehicle that Bell was driving.

You want to have a lawyer in your corner as soon as you can get one. Once the process begins, it may be too late, and your options will soon dry up. The first phone call you make should be to a lawyer who can help you, one like Stephen Kellis.