Should I take Field Sobriety Tests Utah DUI? - Utah DUI Defense Attorney | Glen Neeley

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Arrested for DUI? Don’t Wait.

Your hearing window may be as short as 10 days.

A DUI lawyer in Utah who actually specializes in DUI defense costs $7,500 to $10,000 for a first-offense misdemeanor. A second offense within 10 years runs $12,000 to $15,000. Felony DUI cases start at $15,000 and are quoted case by case. If the case goes to jury trial, expect a separate trial fee of $5,000 to $15,000 depending on complexity.

Those numbers are higher than what you will see advertised, and that is the point of this page. Utah enforces a 0.05% BAC limit under Utah Code § 41-6a-502 — the strictest per se limit in the United States — and the mandatory penalties in § 41-6a-505 leave very little room for a lawyer to improvise. Below is what a serious defense costs, what drives the number up or down, what the bargain quotes are actually buying you, and what a conviction costs so you can compare both figures side by side.

Utah DUI Attorney Fees by Case Type

Case Type	Charge Level	Specialist Attorney Fee
First DUI, no aggravating factors	Class B misdemeanor	$7,500 – $10,000
First DUI with high BAC (.16+), accident, or child passenger	Class B / Class A misdemeanor	$10,000 – $12,500
Second DUI within 10 years	Class A misdemeanor	$12,000 – $15,000
Third DUI within 10 years	Third-degree felony (§ 41-6a-502(2)(c)(i))	$15,000+, quoted case by case
DUI with serious bodily injury or automobile homicide	Third-degree / second-degree felony	$15,000+, quoted case by case
Any DUI taken to jury trial	Varies	Add $5,000 – $15,000

These are ranges for attorneys who defend DUI cases as a primary practice area. They are not a quote. Every case is priced on its own facts after a review of the police report, the testing records, and your driving history.

Why the Cheap Quotes Exist

Search “Utah DUI lawyer cost” and you will find firms advertising $1,500 to $2,500 for a first offense. Those quotes are real. So is the business model behind them.

A fee that low only works at volume. To make the economics function, the attorney has to resolve the case in a handful of court appearances, which means the file gets handled a specific way:

The Intoxilyzer maintenance and calibration records are never requested, so nobody finds out the instrument was out of tolerance.
The blood draw chain of custody and lab bench notes are never subpoenaed, so a contaminated or mishandled sample goes unchallenged.
The dash cam and body cam footage is skimmed, not analyzed frame by frame against NHTSA field sobriety testing standards — where most administration errors live.
No motion to suppress is filed, because litigating reasonable suspicion for the stop takes hours the fee does not cover.
The DLD hearing is skipped or handled as an afterthought, and the license suspension takes effect while the criminal case is still pending.
No expert is retained on retrograde extrapolation, rising blood alcohol, or a medical condition that mimics impairment.

What you are buying at $1,800 is a professional escort to the plea you would have been offered anyway. In many cases that plea is the standard offer the prosecutor hands to everyone in the courtroom that morning. The lawyer is not doing anything wrong — he is doing exactly what the fee purchased.

The question is not what a DUI lawyer costs. It is what work the fee actually pays for, and whether that work has any realistic chance of changing the outcome.

What a $7,500 to $10,000 Defense Buys

A real first-offense DUI defense in Utah involves work that happens before anyone talks about a plea:

Phase	What It Involves
The 10-day window	Immediate DLD hearing request and preparation of the administrative defense, which is a separate proceeding from the criminal case with its own evidentiary rules.
Discovery	Full records request: instrument certification and maintenance logs, operator certification, lab accreditation and bench notes, radio traffic, all video from every responding unit.
Technical review	Frame-by-frame analysis of the stop and the field sobriety tests against NHTSA administration standards, plus review of the testing science for the specific instrument or lab method used.
Motion practice	Briefing and arguing suppression of the stop, the arrest, or the chemical test result — an evidentiary hearing with live officer testimony and cross-examination.
Negotiation	Leveraging identified weaknesses toward dismissal or a reduction to impaired driving under § 41-6a-502.5, which avoids the mandatory interlock and the license suspension.
Sentencing	Mitigation work, alternatives to jail, and structuring the outcome so it does the least long-term damage to employment, licensing, and immigration status.

That is dozens of attorney hours on a case the state considers routine. The fee reflects the hours. There is no version of this where the work gets done for $1,800.

Five Factors That Move the Fee

1. Prior convictions. Utah uses a 10-year lookback under § 41-6a-501. A second offense elevates the charge to a Class A misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail under § 41-6a-505; a third within 10 years is a felony. Each enhancement multiplies both the exposure and the work required to fight it, which is why a second offense runs $12,000 to $15,000 rather than $8,000.

2. BAC level and testing method. A BAC of .16 or higher triggers Utah's extreme DUI sentencing under § 41-6a-505(1) — at least two days in jail plus 30 consecutive days of home confinement with electronic monitoring on a first offense. Blood cases also cost more than breath cases: they require a lab records review and often an independent toxicologist.

3. Aggravating facts. An accident, an injury, or a passenger under 16 changes the charge classification. A passenger under 16 is a separate offense for each child under § 41-6a-502, and serious bodily injury makes the DUI a third-degree felony.

4. Whether the case goes to trial. Most Utah DUI attorneys quote a flat fee covering everything through pretrial resolution, then a separate trial fee of $5,000 to $15,000. A one-day misdemeanor bench trial sits at the low end; a multi-day felony jury trial with expert witnesses sits well above it. Ask for both numbers in writing before you sign anything.

5. The DLD hearing. A Utah DUI triggers two separate proceedings: the criminal case and an administrative license suspension through the Driver License Division. You have 10 days from arrest to request the DLD hearing. Confirm the quoted fee includes DLD representation — some firms bill it separately, and some low-fee firms do not handle it at all.

Flat Fee vs. Hourly

Most Utah DUI attorneys charge a flat fee, and that is the structure you want for a misdemeanor. You get cost certainty on day one and your lawyer has no financial incentive to shorten the case. Hourly billing is generally reserved for complex felony matters where the scope genuinely cannot be predicted. Payment plans are common — a retainer up front with monthly installments — and a firm that will not discuss one is telling you something about how it operates.

What a Conviction Costs

The attorney fee is only half the comparison. Here is what a first-offense Utah DUI conviction carries, line by line:

Conviction Cost (First Offense)	Amount	Source
Minimum fine + 90% surcharge + $40 court security fee	$1,370 – $1,405	§ 41-6a-505; § 51-9-401
Jail (48 consecutive hours minimum) or compensatory service	Lost wages vary	§ 41-6a-505(3)
State impound release fee + towing and storage	$400 – $1,000	§ 41-6a-1406
Driver license suspension, 120 days	Transportation costs vary	§ 53-3-223
License reinstatement fees	~$275	Utah DLD fee schedule
Ignition interlock, 18 months required for drivers 21+	~$100 install + $75–$100/mo (~$1,400+)	§ 41-6a-518.2
Substance abuse screening + Prime for Life education	$300 – $500	§ 41-6a-505(3)
Auto insurance increase (SR-22 filing, 3+ years)	Premiums can rise 200–300%	Carrier-dependent

Add those lines and a first-offense conviction costs roughly $3,700 to $7,000 in hard costs during the first 18 months — before a single hour of lost income, and before the two-year alcohol-restricted driver status that follows any first DUI conviction.

And hard costs are the small part. A DUI conviction is a public criminal record that follows you through employment screening, professional licensing, security clearances, immigration proceedings, and custody disputes. Commercial drivers, nurses, pilots, teachers, and anyone holding a state license are looking at a career problem, not a fine.

Is a $7,500 Lawyer Worth It?

Not if you compare the fee to the fine. Compare it to what a conviction actually costs you.

The real question is whether the work has a realistic chance of producing one of these outcomes:

An outright dismissal where the stop or the arrest cannot survive a suppression motion.
A suppressed breath or blood result, which usually collapses the state's case.
A reduction to impaired driving under § 41-6a-502.5 — no mandatory interlock, no license suspension, and a materially different record.
A preserved license at the DLD hearing, so you keep driving to work while the criminal case is pending.

Those outcomes come from finding the defect in the state's evidence. Finding it takes hours, and hours are what the fee pays for. A cheaper lawyer is not a discount on the same result — it is a different result at a lower price, and the difference lands on your record permanently.

Questions to Ask Before You Hire Anyone

What percentage of your practice is DUI defense?
Are you certified on the breath testing instrument used in my case, and have you completed the NHTSA field sobriety testing course?
Does the flat fee include the DLD hearing? Does it include filing and arguing a motion to suppress?
What is the trial fee, and at what point does it become due?
Will you personally handle my court appearances, or will an associate or contract attorney cover them?
How many DUI cases have you taken to jury trial?

The 10-day DLD deadline is the reason to decide quickly rather than cheaply. Miss it and the suspension takes effect automatically — no hearing, no defense, regardless of how the criminal case turns out.

If you have been charged anywhere in Utah, talk to an experienced Utah DUI defense attorney before your DLD window closes. A consultation costs nothing. The numbers above show what waiting costs.

Arrested for DUI? Don't Wait.

Your hearing window may be as short as 10 days.

Call 801-645-5008
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After a DUI arrest, every detail matters. Glen Neeley personally reviews the stop, the evidence, the testing, and the deadlines that can affect your license and your future. Board certified in DUI defense since 1998, statewide Utah representation.

Fee ranges on this page describe the current Utah market for attorneys whose primary practice is DUI defense. They are informational, not a quote or an offer of representation. Every case is priced after review of the specific facts.

After a DUI arrest, every detail matters. Glen Neeley personally reviews the stop, the evidence, the testing, and the deadlines that can affect your license and your future. If you have been charged with DUI in Utah, do not wait to understand your options.

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The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing this site or submitting a contact form. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Glen W. Neeley is licensed to practice law in Utah. Each case is unique and results depend on the specific facts and circumstances.

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