What Can I Expect When I Go to Court?

When someone is charged with a DUI, most of the time they are released on their own recognizance, which means that they have an O.R. release or they are released without posting bail. But they do have an obligation to make a court appearance or multiple court appearances. On typical misdemeanor cases, which most DUIs are, you can hire a private attorney who can actually go to court for you and take care of that requirement.

When someone goes to court, they are going to be part of the justice system, and that does not mean that things move smoothly or quickly. If someone goes to court, they can expect to spend quite a bit of time going through the court process. It would not be unusual for someone to be ordered to go to court because they were given a citation in order to be in court at 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning. Someone could be in court from 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon pretty much every day in the courtrooms in Los Angeles County. People are there all day long. Somebody is going to be the last case called, and a lot of times that is later in the afternoon.

The court process initially starts with what’s called an arraignment, which is where somebody is advised on what the charges are (typically driving under the influence or driving above the legal limit) and they are advised of what rights they have. They have the right to an attorney. If they cannot afford an attorney they can apply to have the public defender appointed. The public defender is not a matter of right – you don’t automatically get one and what a public defender can do for you is somewhat limited – but a public defender is an attorney and s/he is better than trying to do a court hearing on your own.

When someone goes to the first court appearance, typically their attorney on their behalf will enter a not guilty plea and deny the allegations and then continue the case for what’s called a pretrial, which is the next court date. That will give the attorney an opportunity to review the reports and do some investigation into what’s going on. If you were to go to court on your own, it could be an all-day process, so it’s better to have a private attorney handle it for you so you don’t have to take off of work or school to go to court for the entire day. That typically is how the court process starts.