If I have a DUI pending because of prescription medication, what should the letter from my doctor say?

I think you shoud discuss this with your lawyer. It appears that you have already hired a lawyer, and it's a pet peeve of most lawyers when your client decides to seek counsel other then their own.

Well the letter might be able to be used when talking with the D.A. but the attorney will have to subpoena the doctor in if there is a trial.

The rules of evidence do not allow letters from physicians as evidence. You would have to subpoena the doctors or arrange for them to testify in person without a subpoena. The effects of prescribed medications on an individual is very complicated and may require testimony from a forensic expert as well as your personal physicians.

You should take the advise of your attorney and not be second guessing. If your attorney is not paying attention to you or answering your questions, fire that one and hire another more to your liking. This charge is very serious and need an aggressive defense if the facts warrant it.

Your doctor's letter is hearsay so it's not admissible. You cannot drive impaired under the influence of even prescribed medication.

This is something that you should be discussing with your attorney. It is his advice you should be following. If you do not feel comfortable with your present attorney then you should contact another experienced criminal law attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your arrest and your medical history. He/she would then be in a better position to analyze you case, advise you of your options and tell you which doctors should be contacted and what any report or letter should state. If the District Attorney still decides to prosecute, it may be necessary to retain an expert to testify as to the side effects of the medication you were taking and the chances of you experiencing any of the side effects.

Letter will be hearsay and not admissible.

You can be convicted of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. That is why there are the warning labels on your prescription bottles. I would talk with your lawyer about this issue.

Why didn't you ask your lawyer this? He is not going to be interested in my answer anyway. It can say anything you like, as long as you understand the consequences of using it. Your current lawyer should have explained to you that it will likely have less than no evidentiary value to you in the case. DUI charges are brought because the officer claims your driving was observed to be impaired and you were apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs, whether legal or not. [D]riving [U]nder the [I]nfluence is not excused by the drugs being prescribed. A letter confirming you were on prescription drugs at the time would be effectively a confession. If you want to defend against the charges, you will have to retain a medical expert to re-test your blood sample taken at the time, and testify that the drug levels in the blood were insufficient to impair your driving. You should be able to see the credibility problem in that. The jury would be free to believe him or not, over the arresting officer's testimony about your observed impaired condition. If no blood sample was taken, then all your retained expert could testify to is that IF your claims about the time of taking drugs is to be believed, then after a certain time passed your body would have processed them out to a level below impairs status. You should be able to see the credibility problem in that as well. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all appropriate defenses with whatever witnesses, evidence and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or for trial. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney who does, who will try to get a dismissal, charge reduction, diversion, program, or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate. A little free advice: When arrested for DUI, whether alcohol or drugs, then upon release from jail or booking the defendant is given documents that include a notice that you have only ten days to file a request with DMV for a hearing on an appeal of the automatic suspension of your license imposed by DMV upon your arrest. That is separate and runs consecutively with any suspension that may be imposed by the DMV, or the court upon conviction. Contact DMV and do so, timely, then appear at your scheduled DMV appeal hearing and present any supporting evidence and testimony.

The letter or letters from your doctor or doctors should recite the length of time that the prescriptions you take stay in your system and in your urine and explain that they can show up in a urine test even though you are not under the influence of drugs that would impair your ability to drive. If it is their opinion that your lack of food and water would cause your gait not to be steady, they should also include that information in the letter. I expect that you have discussed this with your lawyer and he should have told you the same thing that I am telling you. He should try to get a stipulation from the prosecutor that permits the doctor or doctors reports to be introduced into evidence without them appearing because if you need them to testify the cost of defense could get very high. It might also help if you could get a disability license plate because of your gastric bypass surgery. That might persuade the police not to go hard on you if you are stopped. You didn't indicate why you were stopped in the present case and that might be a factor your lawyer wants to discuss with the prosecutor.

It should say nothing, because it is hearsay and inadmissible, and even if it were it tends to support the fact that you were intoxicated.

You have raised many issues in your question. First and foremost, it appears that you are represented by an attorney. Your attorney is far more familiar with the facts of your case than I am, as all I have is the brief description you have given me. Having said that, the fact that you took prescribed medication and did so in the exact manner prescribed by your doctor is irrelevant. If you were operating a motor, and your operation of that motor vehicle was "affected to an appreciable degree" by the medication you were on (even legally), and the prosecutor is able to prove it, you have a problem. The DUI statute does not make an exception for legally prescribed medication; after all, the consumption of alcohol is also legal. The critical point is whether your driving was affected by your medication.

You really should be asking your attorney this question. Only he or she knows the strategy that is planned as a defense. Even prescription medications can be the basis of an OUI (Operating Under the Influence) charge in MA. The issue is whether or not your ability to drive was impaired and if you have drugs in your system, then what, if any effects they had on your ability to drive safely and if they did diminish your ability to drive safely, did you or should you have known that they would do so (was there a warning label on the bottle). Speak to your attorney.

Your doctor should lay out for you the relevant details of your prescription and underlying condition. First, the doctor should consult with your lawyer. Do not do this alone.

No doctor's letter will help you. Having a prescription is not defense when it comes to DUI. What you need is a DUI specialist to represent you in court, because drug DUIs are difficult to prove.

Ask your lawyer. You can still be charged with operating under the influence of drugs.

A letter will not do, the doctor must testify in court.

Since you have an attorney, no other attorney may provide you advice. Ask you lawyer!