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Edmonds DUI Lawyers

1. Cahoon, Craig: The DUI Court Process Although each Court System in Washington varies a little on how they handle the initial stages of a criminal prosecution, the basic outline below will help you understand the Court process as a whole: When you get arrested for a crime, you will have several court dates to go through. Your first time in Court is called an Arraignment. Your next court date is called a Pre-Trial or Status Conference. You may also have court dates for Motions or Trial. Arraignment This is your first time in Court and itÕs where you are formally told about the charges against you. In the case of DUI, you may already know what the charge is before you even enter the Courtroom. However, there can be additional charges that you were unaware of like infractions for bad driving or additional criminal charges the prosecution filed after your arrest for DUI. Depending on Jurisdiction, you will either be mailed a Hearing Notice or you will have to look on your citation (about 1/3 from the bottom) where it says Mandatory Court Appearance for your court date and time. If youÕre not sure about the date or the time, call the Court ClerkÕs Office (numbers are available via internet). The Court you are in is listed at the top of the citation, e.g. a citation marked ŅDistrict CourtÓ and the offense happened in Snohomish County, you would do an internet search for ŅSnohomish County District Court.Ó Arrive a few minutes early. Most courts will have a computer printout of all the people scheduled for court that day, called a docket. These printouts are generally in plain sight near the courtrooms. Next to your name will be a courtroom number. ThatÕs where you need to go. If you get confused or canÕt find your courtroom, ask at the Court ClerkÕs office Š they are generally very helpful. Once you get to the right courtroom, be prepared to wait. Most Courts will have either a video or a paper that explains your rights at arraignment. If itÕs a paper, they will want you to sign your name Š saying that you understand your rights. Eventually, you will be called up in front of the Judge. DonÕt Panic. This is not your time to explain what happened Š there will be ample time for that later. All the Judge wants to know at Arraignment is whether you understand the charge(s) against you and whether you want to plead Guilty or Not Guilty. ThatÕs it. Common sense would tell you that if you did something wrong, you should take it easy on the Court System by pleading guilty and the Court System will take it easy on you by not sentencing you as hard as if you fought the charges. Unfortunately, the Court System is not always based on common sense. In fact, you will most likely be punished worse if you plead guilty at arraignment rather than fighting the charge(s). In other words, DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY! Once you have pled Not Guilty, the Court will ask you about whether you want a lawyer. The old clichˇ about ŅThe man that represents himself has a fool for a clientÓ is very true. If you donÕt understand the rules of court and the law regarding DUI (or any other crime) you donÕt stand a chance against a well trained prosecutor. Lawyers come in two flavors: Private and Public Defenders. You do not need to have a lawyer with you at arraignment. If you are planning on hiring a private attorney, you need only tell the Judge that and he or she will be satisfied Š but will warn you not to wait too long to hire them. If you canÕt afford a lawyer of your own choosing then you may qualify for a Public Defender. The Court will have a series of questions for you in order to determine whether or not you qualify based on your income, dependants, etc. The downside with a Public Defender is that you have no control over who is appointed to your case. Even if you qualify and have a Public Defender represent you, you can always have a private attorney take over at any time. ItÕs very common for people with a Public Defender to hire a private attorney Š so donÕt worry, your Public Defender will not be upset if you replace them with a private attorney Š they may even be relieved since it means one less case to handle. After the Judge addresses the issue of your Lawyer, the Court will then address your release status. If you have a clean record, you will probably be released on your promise to come back. If you have a criminal record, the Judge may impose a bail or bond amount to ensure you will come back. The Court will assign a date when you will need to come back for your Pre-Trial hearing. If you canÕt make it on that date, make sure to tell the Judge about your conflict so another date can be picked. If a conflict comes up later, contact your lawyer immediately so he or she can file a motion for continuance of the court date. You will leave with Court with a piece of paper telling you the date and time of your next court date. DonÕt be surprised if this is two to three months from your arraignment date. This may seem like a long time but donÕt wait Š if you need to find an attorney start immediately as it may take a long time to find the one you want and to get the money together to hire them. Once youÕve hired your attorney, that person will need to send in a Notice of Appearance, telling the Court and Prosecution that they represent you. They will also need time to get all of the Police Reports and other documents the Prosecution intends on using against you (collectively referred to as Discovery). After your attorney has all of the Discovery, they will need to sit down with you face to face and discuss your case. One of the bizarre rules in Washington State is CrRLJ 4.7, the rule that allows your lawyer to get the discovery in your case. The same rule actually prevents them from giving you a copy of the discovery Š even though itÕs your case! This rule is even more bizarre considering the fact that if you were to fire your lawyer and represent yourself, the State would be REQUIRED to give you a copy of the Discovery. None the less, nothing prevents your lawyer from giving you access to the Discovery whenever you want Š as often as you want; they just canÕt send you home with a copy. Pre-Trial Hearings These hearings take place at Court and in front of a Judge. Their purpose is to make sure that no case Ņslips through the cracksÓ by making sure that the case is reviewed in a systematic way. During a pretrial, the Judge wants to know what the status of the case is: Do the parties (Prosecutor or Defense) want to enter a Guilty Plea to something, do they want to set a time for a Motion Hearing, do they want to have a Trial, or do they not know what they want and are simply asking for more time? These hearings are administrative in nature. That means that they are relatively low stress because nothing will happen at a pretrial unless the Defendant makes it happen. In most cases, the Defendant does not need to say anything other than answering the Judge when the Judge asks if the Defendant consents to what is happening, e.g. asking for a continuance or setting a Motion Hearing. You and your attorney will have discussed what is to take place at the pretrial long before you actually get there. Most criminal cases have several pretrial dates. There are many reasons why you donÕt want to resolve your case during the first pretrial: You may have legal issues that need to be decided by a Judge (during a Motion Hearing), your attorney may need longer to negotiate with the prosecution, or you may simply not have decided which way you want to go on your case. If you are asking the Judge to continue your case, the issue of Speedy Trial will come up. If you are out of custody, then your case must be resolved within ninety days (sixty if you are in custody). When a Defendant asks for a continuance, the Judge will either not want that extra time to count against the 90 days or will ask for a fresh 90 days Šstarting on the date of the continuance request- before granting the request for continuance. Although this Speedy Trial rule is an important right - as a practical matter, it very rarely determines the outcome of a case. In other words, if your lawyer thinks itÕs a good idea to waive the Speedy Trial rule, by giving the State more time to bring you to trial, then it probably is in your best interest. Motion Hearings Motions are written legal arguments on why evidence in your case (sometime the whole case) should be thrown out. There are potentially hundreds of motions that could be filed in a criminal case. Your lawyer will know which ones (if any) apply to your specific facts. Motions serve two purposes: First, if you can suppress evidence then you may have a better chance of winning if you go to trial. Second, motions are a wonderful way to change the strength of your case thus making it more likely that the prosecution will want to make an offer of settlement that you make actually want to accept. A motion hearing looks like a bench trial: They take place in Court and in front of a Judge, There may be witnesses, Both Defense and Prosecution will make arguments to the Judge and finally, the Judge will make a legal ruling on the issue. This is where the similarity to a trial ends. The burden of proof at a motion hearing is substantially less that at a trial and the Judge is required to view the evidence in a motion hearing Ņin the light most favorable to the State.Ó These two elements combine to make a motion hearing easier for the State to win than the Defense. The reason behind this unfair advantage is actually a good one: The heart of our legal system is the Jury Trial. If you win at a Motion Hearing, then you may bypass the Jury Trial entirely. Trials Trials come in two flavors: Bench and Jury. A bench trial is one where the Judge decides everything. A Jury trial is one where six people (twelve in the case of a Felony) decide what the facts are and the Judge decides what the law is. You can waive (give up) your right to a Jury Trial at any time but if you do so then you generally cannot get it back. If you are ever asked to decide if you want a Bench or Jury trial, you always pick Jury (since you can always change your mind) because if you pick Bench Trial Š thatÕs what youÕre stuck with. At trial, the prosecution is required to prove each of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Your lawyer will discuss with you the elements (what the state has to prove in your case). Your job as a Defendant is to decide whether or not the State can prove each of those elements. Can any of the elements become unprovable if you win at a Motion Hearing? The outcome of a trial is easy: you either win or you loose. If you win, go home Š youÕre done. If you loose, then you will typically (though not always) end up with a little more jail time and a little more fines than if you had pled guilty. Is it worth the risk? ThatÕs something for you and your lawyer to decide.
2. Segelbaum, John: DO'S AND DON'TS OF A DUI STOP DO slow down, signal and pull over to the shoulder when the police officer turns on his emergency lights. The officer will document how you respond. DO put your car in park, set the parking brake and turn of the engine. DO roll down both the driver's side and passenger side windows. The officer may approach from either side and will document any difficulty you have rolling down the windows. DO keep both hands on the steering wheel where the officer can see them. The officer wants to be able to see your hands for officer safety. DO provide the officer with your driver's license, registration and proof of insurance. Keep your license in a place where you can easily find it and produce it. Avoid keeping it in a plastic compartment of your wallet. It will be difficult to remove and the officer will document difficulty in removing it from your wallet. Keep your registration and insurance card in a holder above the visor where you can easily locate and remove them. Avoid cluttered glove compartments. The officer will document difficulty finding and removing these documents. DO address the officer as Sir or Ma'am. You will get points for being polite. DO NOT engage the officer in conversation or answer questions. You have the right to remain silent. The officer will casually ask you if you have been drinking, how much you had to drink, where you are coming from, where you are going, etc. DO NOT answer these questions. Your answers will be used against you in court. Any inconsistencies in your answers will be used against you. In addition, the officer will document an odor of intoxicants on your breath and any slurred speech, etc. DO NOT lie to the officer or argue with the officer. Politely but firmly say, "I don't wish to answer any questions, thank you." DO get out of the car if the officer tells you to get out. DO NOT agree to take any roadside sobriety tests, including the preliminary breath test (PBT), a portable breath-testing device the officer carries with him/her. These tests are voluntary and you have the right to refuse them. Politely but firmly tell the officer, "No thank you." While you might think you will do well on these tests, chances are the officer will say you flunked them. They are judged subjectively by the officer and it's your word against his/her. DO NOT argue with the officer if he or she places you under arrest. You will not win the argument. Cooperate. Let the officer handcuff you and place you in the police car. Do NOT try to talk your way out of the arrest. Telling the officer "I can make it home" or "Just let my husband/wife come pick me up" won't help. DO NOT tell the officer you will lose your job or he/she is ruining your life. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Every time you open your mouth, you hurt your case. DO NOT talk to the officer on the way to the police station. He/she will document everything you say along with the overwhelming odor of intoxicants filling the police car and the slurred speech as you speak. DO demand to speak to an attorney as soon as you are placed in the police car. Say, "I would like to speak to an attorney." The officer is supposed to advise you of your right to talk to an attorney as soon as you are placed under arrest. Ask to talk to an attorney even if the officer doesn't advise you of this right. DO renew your request to talk to an attorney when you get to the police station. Say "I would like to speak to an attorney before I do anything else." The officer must provide you with a telephone, telephone book and the phone number of the on call public defender. You can call your own attorney, find me in the phone book or ask to speak to the on call public defender. It doesn't matter how much money you have. Private attorneys will take your call and the public defender will talk to anyone, even if you don't qualify for one in court. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is. Usually, the officer will dial the phone for you. DO request that the officer leave the room so that you can talk to the attorney in private. While you have the right to talk to an attorney, you might not get privacy unless you ask for it. If the officer refuses a request for privacy, evidence could get suppressed in court. You have to ask to talk to an attorney and you have to ask for privacy. Make a mental note of where the officer is while you are on the phone. Tell the attorney where the officer is. You do not have the right to call your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend unless they are an attorney. You can ask to call them if they have the phone number for your attorney. DO NOT agree to answer questions at the police station. The officer is supposed to advise you of your right to remain silent after you are placed under arrest. This usually happens in the police car and again at the police station. DO NOT give up (waive) your right to remain silent. DO tell the officer if you are confused about any of the rights he reads you at the police station, especially if you don't understand all the rights and consequences of taking the breath test. If you are confused be sure to tell the officer, "I am confused. I don't understand the rights." The officer doesn't have to give you advice whether or not to take the test. But he does have to clarify any confusion you have about the consequences of taking or refusing the test and the right to additional tests. If he doesn't do so or misstates the law, the breath test could be suppressed in court and at the Department of Licensing Hearing. DO take the breath test at the police station. This is not an absolute rule but generally good advice. Listen to the attorney. If you refuse the breath test, you will lose your license for at least one year even if you are not convicted of DUI. It is generally easier to fight the breath test and the DUI case than the license refusal revocation proceeding. You DO NOT have the right to wait for an attorney to come to the police station before taking the test. You DO NOT have the right to take a blood test INSTEAD OF the breath test. You do have the right to obtain any additional tests you want IN ADDITION TO the breath test. Discuss this with the attorney. DO NOT sign any papers at the police station, except for the Driver's Hearing Request Form and the ticket for DUI. Signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt. It is just a promise to appear in court. DO write down everything that happened as soon as you get home, while the entire incident is fresh in your mind. DO contact an attorney immediately for legal advice, even if the officer did not give you a ticket. SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE OF A DUI CASE BEGINS AS SOON AS THE POLICE OFFICER TURNS ON HIS EMREGENCY LIGHTS. EVERYTHING YOU DO AND SAY WILL AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF YOUR CASE. If you can only remember 3 things, they are: 1. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! 2. DO NOT TAKE ANY FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS OR THE PBT! 3. TAKE THE BREATH TEST AT THE POLICE STATION! 4. DEMAND TO TALK TO AN ATTORNEY AS SOON AS YOU ARE ARRESTED AND AGAIN AT THE POLICE STATION! 5. BE POLITE! That's 5 things. The most important is CALL AN EXPERIENCED DUI ATTORNEY FOR HELP!
3. James Conley: You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.