In case that the law enforcement officer will have reasons to believe that you were driving under the influence of alcohol, he will pull you over and will administer special field sobriety tests. In addition, in order to determine with better precision if you are drunk, the law enforcement officer will probably administer the breathalyzer test, which is delivering more accurate results. In case the police officer is going to decide that you need to be placed under arrest, he or she will be required to immediately notify you of your driver’s license suspension within 30 days after the arrest. In addition, the officer will need to file the official copy of the notice of suspension of the driver’s license along with the driver’s license itself to the DMV.
With that done, the law enforcement officer is going to take you to the police station or even to a hospital in order to administer a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) blood test. If in case of the breathalyzer test, the results are instant, when it comes to the blood tests – results are a lot more accurate, but may take up to several days. In most cases, the suspect will be held in the facility if the test results will arrive within several hours. However, once the DUI tests are administered (or once the suspect refuses to submit him or herself to the tests), the suspect will be booked and released.
After you are going to be arrested and before you are going to be released, you will get the official date for the arraignment, which is basically the pre-trial hearing. During this arraignment, the judge is going to explain what you were charged with and what kind of rights you currently have. These include the right of legal counsel of course. Furthermore, during the arraignment, the two parties (both the prosecution and the defense) will be able to exchange all the evidence they have. Such an exchange is without a doubt mutually beneficial and allows building a stronger case. Furthermore, during that very hearing, if the defendant does not have the money to hire a lawyer, the court will ask him or her to fill out all the paperwork indicating the financial situation and, if the judge will deem it appropriate, the defendant will be granted a public defender.
Finally, in case that you do not want your driver’s license to be revoked, it is very important, crucial even, to make sure that you are going to initiate an administrative DMV hearing within 10 days after the arrest took place. That way you are going to fight against this decision. The DMV has nothing to do with the criminal hearing, but they do have one thing in common. In both cases, you will need to have a qualified as well as genuinely experienced legal representative by your side in order to make the most from it.
Find more information about DUI process here: www.chicagoduilawyernow.com
No comments:
Post a Comment