Being charged with driving under the influence in Los Angeles can be a very complex and often confusing process. For that very reason, if you are facing DUI charges you need an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer with experience in dealing with driving under the influence cases. In Los Angeles, DUI cases typically involve a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing as well as criminal offense court proceedings.
The whole court process begins when a Los Angeles police officer pulls you over for driving recklessly or erratically. In Los Angeles, police must have a reason to pull you over. The police officer must observe bad driving such as swerving, running through stoplights or stop signs, speeding, or driving too slowly. Once pulled over, the police officer may administer one or several field sobriety tests, or take a breath sample to determine if you are intoxicated. Field sobriety tests and breath analysis tests must be administered according to strict procedures, so try to make mental notes about everything to discuss later with your lawyer.
If the police officer feels you are, indeed, driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, he or she will take your license, hand you a pink slip known as a Notice of Suspension and arrest you. The Notice of Suspension acts as a temporary, 30-day driving license while your DMV hearing and DUI trial are scheduled. You have 10 days from the time of your arrest to contact your lawyer and schedule a DMV hearing, which will reinstate your driving privileges until your DUI trial is finished. You may or may not be held in custody after your arrest, or released on your own recognizance.
Next in the court process, you will be arraigned. You and your lawyer will go before a judge in a Los Angeles courtroom where you will be informed of the charges against you. At this time, you and your lawyer will be able to enter either a guilty or not guilty plea. Your lawyer will be discuss this with you beforehand and recommend what he or she thinks is your best course of action. After the arraignment, pretrial motions begin. Your lawyer will either request to suppress certain pieces of evidence, or introduce evidence in your favor. Much of this is based on whether or not the police officer who arrested you followed proper procedure at the time of your arrest. Eventually, your DUI trial begins. Your lawyer and the prosecuting attorney will jointly select a jury and begin the actual trial. The trial is over when the jury has deliberated and come back with a verdict of either guilty or not guilty.
If you have been found guilty by the jury, the judge in the case will decide what kind of punishment you receive. Throughout this court process, a good Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer will keep you updated as to what is going on and prepare you for every step of the process. Being charged with a criminal offense is stressful, but knowing what is going to happen next can take away some of the anxiety. Hiring a good Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer to fight for you is the best thing you can do for yourself if you find yourself in such a situation.
The Los Angeles DUI attorneys at Kestenbaum Eisner & Gorin LLP specialize in the aggressive defense of DUI - Driving Under the Influence charges resulting from drunk driving arrests throughout Southern California.
