DMV Hearing
After you are stopped and arrested for DUI, the officer will immediately confiscate your driver's license and give you a temporary license at the time of arrest or upon release from jail. This form is pink in color and commonly referred to as "Notice of Suspension and Temporary Driver's License". After the date of arrest, you will have only have 10 days to schedule a hearing with the DMV to contest their license suspension. If a hearing is not scheduled within this 10 day period, you will have their license automatically be suspended.
Your DMV hearing may be scheduled with the Driver Safety Office of the California DMV, and your DUI attorney may represent you at the hearing. This hearing is your chance to show evidence or testimony that can help get your driving privileges reinstated until your DUI case is heard. The purpose of the DMV hearing is not to determine whether or not you are actually guilty of DUI. It is solely to determine whether or not you will be able to keep your license. A skilled attorney, like the DUI attorneys at O'Connor Law APC, will know exactly what paperwork and/or evidence is needed at your DMV hearing , so that you get the best outcome possible.
Court Proceedings
The DUI charge and court process begin with the DUI arrest. A patrolling police officer may believe that your vehicle is being driven in an erratic manner, or that a traffic violation has occurred, and will pull you over. If the officer believes that you are intoxicated, they will take your license and arrest you for DUI. You may then be held in custody following your arrest. If you are taken into custody you can either be released on your own recognizance, or you may have to post bail. One of the worst things that you can do is miss your court date, so if you are released on your own recognizance, immediately calendar your court date. A missed court date WILL result in the issuance of a warrant for your arrest, and you are almost guaranteed to spend some time in jail.
The first court appearance in a DUI case is the arraignment. At your arraignment the judge will advise you of the charges that have been filed against you, and it is at that time when you can plead not guilty and fight the charges, or plead guilty and accept whatever punishment the judge decides is warranted in your case. It is rarely a good idea to plead guilty at the arraignment, which is why you should consult the DUI attorneys at O'Connor Law APC before your arraignment.
After the arraignment, there are pretrial conferences and hearings that must be attending. These pretrial proceedings are where the DUI attorneys at O'Connor Law APC skillfully challenge the prosecutions evidence, and advocate on your behalf, to secure the best possible result in your DUI case. Through their efforts, the DUI attorneys at O'Connor Law APC will use their years of experience to aid you in getting a reduced charge, or the sentence in your DUI case that you desire.
If a resolution cannot be reached at the pretrial stage, the next step would be to take the case to the ultimate end – a jury trial. It is at jury trial where the prosecution has the burden of proving that you are indeed guilty of DUI. The attorneys at O'Connor Law APC have participated in a great many DUI trials, which gives them an advantage in the courtroom, and is a big reason why you should choose O'Connor Law APC to represent you in your DUI case.