Will I be able to Drive After Being Arrested and Charged With a DUI?

Will I Have a Criminal Court Appearance in The First Month After a DUI Arrest?
A person will usually have an initial criminal court appearance within the first month of a DUI arrest. During this court hearing, the defendant will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty, then the judge will sentence them at that time. If they enter a plea of not guilty, the judge will assign a trial date for some point in the future. The trial date is set in the future to allow for the time it will take to summon officers and witnesses.

What Are Some Common Mistakes People Make Following A DUI Arrest?
The biggest mistake that someone can make following a DUI arrest is failing to hire an attorney and requesting discovery. People often wait until a week before their trial date and then scramble to find an attorney because they realize that they will lose their license if they lose the trial. People who wait before contacting an attorney quite often experience a license suspension because they will have failed to meet the law’s requirement to request a trial within 30 days.

An attorney will be able to prepare the case ahead of time, request a trial setting, and request the discovery file, including any footage that may be available from body or dash cameras. When I take these cases, I watch all of the available footage from start to finish, carefully read the officer’s statements, and review the Intoxilyzer report to ensure that it was certified and that the officer who operated it was certified to do so. I’m willing to break down the entire discovery file and go through it inch by inch, moment by moment, and page by page. If someone waits until the absolute last second, then I can’t do this. If it’s a day before trial and I’m begging the court to send discovery, they might send me several hours’ worth of footage, leaving me with an insufficient amount of time to thoroughly review it. Another mistake people make is trying to deal with the prosecutor on their own. As soon as they admit that they have had a couple of beers, they’ve made a statement that is against their interest and admissible in court.