Nalcrest, FL DUI Law Firms & Lawyers

You most certainly will not have to talk (you have the right to remain silent) unless it is to tell the court whether you need a public defender or would like to hire a private attorney. If you hire a private attorney prior to the court date then the attorney can waive your appearance so you do not need to go to court. If you are offered a deal when you do go to court you should not accept it until you have had the chance to have a lawyer review the evidence against you and determine whether the offer is actually in your best interest.

You should review the written retainer contract with your lawyer, it probably was a flat fee which included plea or trial.  I assume that at some point you entered a plea rather than going to trial. The decision to plead rather than go to trial is based upon the advice of your lawyer, which is what you paid for.  A lawyer will file a notice of appearance, request and review discovery from the state, obtain and review the dui video, and enter into negotiations with the state attorney and attend several court hearings before advising you of whether to go to trial or not. It is quite possible that the lawyer decided that you would have a losing case and if you went to trial you may have faced a jail sentence instead of probation as part of a plea. In many cases you are paying for the reputation and experience of the lawyer and some lawyers collect a flat fee which includes a trial.

You can't. A not guilty verdict requires a trial and the finder of fact (usually jury, but sometimes judge) to specifically find you not guilty. If there was never a trial then there never was a verdict. A dismissal is a great outcome but you can't change it to something it's not.