Lions’ Berry Waives Right to Preliminary DUI Hearing

On Tuesday, Detroit Lions cornerback Aaron Berry waived his right to a preliminary hearing following his arrest for DUI last month.

Late in June, Berry was driving near the Harrisburg Hilton, where he was staying, when he crashed into a parked car. He then exited his vehicle and walked away from the scene. When police caught up with him around 4:45 a.m., he was uncooperative and refused to participate in field sobriety tests.

Police subsequently charged him with two counts of accidents involving other vehicles, two counts of leaving the scene and DUI.

He waived his right to a preliminary trial and agreed to enter a diversionary program for first offenders and serve 20 to 40 hours of community service.

Berry will still have to pay court costs and will also be subject to a fine.

First offenders have the chance to avoid jail or tough penalties if their DUI attorney can convince the court to allow their clients to enter into an alcohol education and rehabilitation program.

People who have been arrested for a DUI often think they don’t need to hire a DUI lawyer and instead to choose to take their chances in court. This is a mistake since a DUI will mar the offender’s permanent record even though a legal expert could prevent an eventual conviction. Sure they can save some money in the short-term, but preventing a conviction with the help of a DUI attorney is worth keeping their records clean.