Trial Rights: Sometimes A DUI Trial Is Not So Speedy

DUI Lawyer in Orange County                          

If you are arrested for DUI, or any other misdemeanor offense such as domestic violence or  theft, you have the right to a public trial by jury within 30-45 days of arraignment. (Penal Code Section 1382(a)). The arraignment is typically the first court appearance that you and your criminal defense lawyer in Orange County will attend. In most misdemeanor cases your DUI defense lawyer will be able to attend your arraignment, and all other court appearances, on your behalf.  At the arraignment, the judge will inform you (or your DUI Attorney) of the charges against you. The judge will also determine whether bail should be required in your case or whether an “own recognizance” release was appropriate.  The judge will also tell you that you have the right to a speedy and public trial within 45 days (if you are out of custody) or 30 days (if you are still in the Orange County jail.

In most cases, if the defendant is not in custody, their Orange County DUI lawyers will “waive” the right to trial within 45 days and enter a “general time waiver”. This gives the defendant’s   criminal defense lawyers in Orange County time to review the evidence in the case and prepare for trial. Once your case is ready for trial, you and your  DUI Lawyer will pick a date for trial. The average time of a DUI trial is about three to four days. So, ideally, if your criminal trial were to start on a Monday, you would know to take four days off from work for the trial. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.

Penal Code Section 1382(a)(2)(B) says that once a criminal defendant and their  Orange County DUI Lawyer show up on the day set for trial and announce that they are ready, the court must start that trial not immediately, but within 10 days. So if you come to court on Monday for your DUI trial, the trial may not start until the following Thursday. In fact, in my personal experience it is RARE for the judge to start the trial on the first day. (Called zero of ten)

The most common causes for the delay is the lack of available courtrooms. The criminal justice system is very busy and recent budget cuts have exacerbated the problem. There are often other defendants in line also waiting to start their trial for DUI, drugs, domestic violence or hit and run. Other times it is the District Attorney who is not ready to proceed. In that case, the judge is supposed to hold a hearing to determine if the DA has good cause for the delay but, in practice, that is rarely done. Most judges automatically grant a delay (continuance) within the ten-day period. Since you only know that the trial will begin sometime within a ten day period, for a four-day DUI trial, a defendant and their DUI Lawyer in Orange County must keep 13 consecutive work days available for trial.

One way around this huge financial hurdle is for the defendant to waive their personal appearance at trial. Most judges recognize the unfairness to a defendant of having to miss that much work and will grant the request as long as the defendant and their Orange County criminal defense lawyer agree to “stipulate” to the identity of the defendant—that you are the one the officer arrested.

If you have been arrested for DUI, DUI with injury, DUI with priors, or any other crime in Orange County call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free telephonic consultation to learn your options and the DUI penalties. We have offices at: 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92627; and 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.

DUI Attorney in Orange County