I had never been charged with a crime in my entire life. Unfortunately, I went to happy hour and just after midnight on my way home I was pulled over for speeding. The very first thing out of the cop's mouth was to ask "how much" I had to drink. I was honest and admitted to drinking, but I was NOT d...runk. The officer immediately told me to get out of my truck and made me take all of the tests. Even though I passed them all, they arrested me anyway. He told me if I passed the breath test at the station I would go home. However, when we got there I said "no", as I didn't feel like they had a reason to give me one, AND they had already arrested me!! At that point what did it matter?. (I later found out his report said I had "slurred speech" and was unsteady on my feet with bloodshot eyes and all sorts of lies). I couldn't believe it. I was NOT drunk.
After I got out of jail that morning I immediately called around to find a good lawyer. Several of my friends told me to call the Tulsa DUI Guy. I remembered seeing his ads all over town, but I wasn't sure if he was any good. I did meet with some other lawyers, but honestly, Zach was the easy decision, for a number of reasons. He met with me the first day I called him, and he was actually the person who answered the phone. We met in person at his office (a very nice building), and he immediately faxed off a request to keep my license. He pretty much answered every question I had without me even having to ask any. He did most of the talking, and I just listened. It was as if he already knew everything I was going to ask about, and all of my fears and worries were calmed. He put me at ease, and frankly, from that moment forward, I completely trusted him to handle my case. I was never really worried after that first meeting. It ran very smoothly, and he seemed to know a lot about DUIs.
Zach did everything he said he was going to do, and everything he said would happen did in fact happen. I was really impressed. It was obvious the judge respected him, and he told me in court that I had a "very fine lawyer". That made me feel better and realize I hired the right lawyer. I was really worried about a conviction, but in the end, I got a deferred sentence. We can get it off my record in a couple of years. That was just the beginning though!! He called me almost a year after my arrest to tell me that my driver's license would not be suspended after all. So, in short, I never lost my license, and we are going to get this off my record in the future as soon as possible.
Yes, I know I did wrong, and the reality is that I have had to pay for that wrong. This DUI has cost me a LOT of money. However, the money I spent on Zach was easily worth it. I never lost my driver's license, which was amazing to me seeing how Zach and ONLY one other lawyer told me that I could fight it. The rest of the lawyers I talked to told me nothing could be done and that it would be suspended. I don't know how he did that, but evidently Zach and that other lawyer were right.
I know I will not make that same mistake again, but if you or someone you know gets a DUI, I highly recommend you call Zach Smith. Friends of mine who have gotten DUIs have had to get the blow device put in their trucks, and I am the only one of us that never had to do that. One of my buddies was actually happy he got a reduced charge, but Zach told me we didn't want that because his record will be there for at least ten years. While I still have to deal with this on my record for awhile, the fact is, someday within the next few years this will be a distant memory, and that is because of the good lawyer I hired. I can't say enough good things about Zach.