Is It Important To Have An Attorney For The DUI Arraignment?

If you or your loved ones were charged with a DUI in Chicago, you are going to be provided with a special citation, which will include the date and the time for you to appear in court. This first appearance is known as an Arraignment. Even though the Arraignment is not an actual trial per say, do not make the mistake of believing that it is just a formality. In truth, it is a very important part of the criminal court system and there are several factors in play that may well have an impact on the end results. This is why it is preferable and highly advisable to have a qualified as well as genuinely experienced legal representative by your side.

- First of all, it is important to remember that during the Arraignment, the prosecutor is going to make you an offer, the so-called plea bargain. This offer basically implies that you are going to agree to the prosecutor’s conditions and the case is going to be closed there and then. At times, the plea bargain are genuinely beneficial for the defendants. However, in most of the cases, those bargains imply some serious penalties and it will make sense to carry on towards the pretrial hearing in order to get a better bargain. For example, let us say that John hired a professional DUI attorney and they both went to the DUI Arraignment. The prosecutor offers them a plea bargain – it does not involve any jail time, but it does involve several years of probation as well as hundreds of hours of community service. Of course, John is very eager to get it all done with and he is happy that there is no jail time involved. However, his lawyer warns him that it is not the best offer they can get and advises John to wait for the pretrial. John agrees and during the pretrial hearing the prosecutor decides to make another offer – reckless driving. Sure enough, John’s lawyer advises his client to plead guilty and not DUI charges will appear on his records.

- Entering a plea of guilty, not guilty or not guilty is also a matter that is best discussed with the attorney. See, without the proper knowledge of how the system works, it will be extremely difficult for you to determine whether it is best to plead not guilty or guilty in certain situation. For instance, let us say that Alice was charged with a second time DUI and she gets an offer – a week in jail, a fine as well as probation. Alice’s lawyer realizes that the judge does not take second time DUI offenders lightly during the pretrial, so he advises Alice to plead guilty.

As you can see, without the proper knowledge and all the necessary expertise, you will not be able to make the right decision on your own and it is best to hire a professional to represent you in court.

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