Ads for criminal lawyers are everywhere . In reality, it is likely that you have seen them on TV, seen them on billboards , glanced at them in phone books, seen them on virtually every website, ignored them on pamphlets , and heard about them on the radio . However , even though there is an extremely good chance that you have been flooded by the myriad of ads that make up the promotional rampage that is usually associated with the field of criminal law, you be confused about why people need criminal lawyers . Unfortunately, the the reality is that you may still need one at some time in the future . This is a result of the fact that there are a myriad of crimes that people carry out much more often than you may realize and, as a result , these individuals may want to find a criminal lawyer. If this is the case , what are some of the crimes that people may need a criminal lawyer for? One of the major reasons that an individual might need to hire a criminal lawyer is if the individual was was arrested for DUI . Driving under the influence is actually one of the most common crimes in the U.S. as surveys indicate that there are close to 159 million people in the U.S. driving under the influence of alcohol each year . This may seem frightening as most people believe that driving under the influence is extremely unsafe , but estimates still indicate that one person is killed as the result of a drunk driving accident every 39 minutes. In order to curb the increasing number of accidents related to drunk drivers , state legislatures and law enforcement officials throughout the country have been cracking down on individuals that drive under the influence . Therefore, you are much more likely to be pulled over , arrested, you may lose your license , you may go to jail , and/or be fined if you are caught driving while intoxicated and that you will have to find a criminal lawyer. Another major reason that an individual might need to hire a criminal lawyer is if the individual was arrested for assault . It may seem like a disturbing statistic to think about, but there are over 3.5 million domestic assaults each year and this doesn’t even include all of the assaults committed against people outside of an individual’s family so the crime of assault occurs all too often within the U.S.. This has become a major concern in many areas as a large number of states have started to to establish severe penalties for assault, especially in relation to domestic assault, and have taken action to establish a number of regulations related to how domestic assaults have to be handled by law enforcement officials . As a result , there is a much higher chance that you will be placed under arrest and may end up in prison if you assault someone. The best thing that you can do in this situation is to find a good criminal lawyer to present your side . The third reason that an individual will commonly require the services of a criminal lawyer is if the individual is arrested for possessing an illegal substance. Approximately 1,800,000 people are arrested each year for being in possession of an illegal substance in the U.S., which is nearly equal to 13.1% of all of the arrests made throughout the U.S. each year. These figures may be disturbing , but there is something that you should keep in mind . The old saying “possession is 9/10 of the law” may hold more truth than you may believe as you will be arrested , and possibly convicted, if you are even in the presence of an illegal substance . Therefore, you may need to find a criminal lawyer even if you’ve never purchased or taken drugs before.