Stages Of A DUI Case

Driving under the influence is a common problem in almost every country. Unfortunately people still don’t want to understand the seriousness of such violations and or are just too confident. To give another vote for not drinking and driving we will present the stages of a driving under the influence case in this article and show how serious it is. The main factor considered during every DUI case is the history of driving under the influence violations, if you already had some violations, be sure that you won’t get even the simple things like bail very easy.

Stage 1 - Arrest

At the first stage the person is taken into custody by a police officer. In this case the officer can arrest a person if he personally observes a crime of has a probable cause to suspect the person. For example when strong indications of DUI are present, but a chemical test is refused or is not possible, the officer can arrest the person because of a probable cause. The person can also be arrested if a warrant on arrest has been issued.

Stage 2 - Booking & Bail

The Second stage is booking and bail. The person is taken to police custody and all the procedures like mug shots and fingerprints are made. At this phase a person can also be bailed out if the criminal history is okay.

Stage 3 – Arraignment

This is the key stage of every DUI case. At this case the defendant arrives in court for the first time, the criminal court judge reads the charges and asks the defendant if he or she pleads guilty, not guilty or no contest. Depending on the answer the case can be ended at this stage if the defendant pleads guilty or continue if the defendant pleads not guilty.

Stage 4 - Plea Bargain

At this stage the defendant can plea guilty and accept the charges (and receive smaller punishment if he pleads guilty). Most of the DUI cases end here, because if the governments’ evidence is usually strong there is no need to get to the trial stage.

Stage 5 - Preliminary Hearing

This stage is very rare for a DUI case, because mostly the case ends at previous stages.

Stage 6 - Pre-Trial Motions

The Pre-Trial Motions are standard in every DUI case. The defense and the prosecutor appear before the criminal court and discuss what evidence and which witnesses should be presented or excluded.

Stage 7 – Trial

The trial is similar to other cases like criminal cases for example. The arguments are presented by both sides and the jury has to define if the defendant is guilty or not. The only difference is only that most of the DUI cases do not reach the trial phase.

Stage 8 – Sentencing

Punishments in a DUI case depend on the consequences of the accident and can include: payment of fines, incarceration in Jail or prison, probation, suspended sentence, suspension of driver's license (it happens very often), community service and drug/alcohol rehabilitation.

Stage 9 - Appeals

If the individual thinks that the decision was unlawful, he or she can fill an appeal and try to argue the decision.