DUI Arrest: What Do I Do Now?

If you are
arrested for DUI the arresting officer will confiscate your California
driver’s license and give you a temporary paper license. Once you are
fingerprinted and “booked’, you will be released on your “own recognizance” (“OR”)
or you will be required to post bail before being released. In either case you
will have to sign a promise-to-appear, which legally obliges you, or your Orange County DUI attorney, to appear in court on a specific date.

Once you are
released from jail, it is very important that you, or your DUI defense lawyer, call the Driver Safety division of the DMV within ten days
of the arrest date and request a hearing in your matter. If you or your DUI
defense attorney don’t make that call, your California driver’s license will
automatically become SUSPENDED thirty days after the arrest date. Even if later
on your DUI defense lawyer discovers that the DMV cannot meet its legal burden
of proving a case against you, if you or your lawyer didn’t request a hearing
you lose the right to challenge the DMV’s decision.

The next
crucial date is the court date on your promise-to-appear. This first court
appearance is called the “arraignment” and if you, or your DUI lawyer don’t show
up for it the court will issue a warrant for your arrest. Moreover, you will
have the new criminal charge of “failure to appear” for you and your DUI
attorney to contend with.

If you would
like to consult with an experienced DUI Lawyer in Orange County call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500.
We offer a free and confidential telephonic consultation. You can also visit us
at www.ejesquire.com. We have offices at
32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
and at 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.