Arraignment With Counsel

The first court date is called “Arraignment”

The first court date in any DUI case is called Arraignment. What you can expect to have happen at your first court date will actually be determined by the decisions you make now.

Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant (Felony), to inform him or her of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally the plea entered is “not guilty.” This process is one of your “constitutional” “due process” rights whereby your are told exactly what you’re being accused of.

After you retain a lawyer s/he will attend court for you on or before the date your were provided and will enter a “not guilty” plea. How this is done can vary.

In San Diego county using a fax machine is authorized but can lead to problems as compared to actually going into court – depending on the specific courthouse and department. Which ever way the attorney chooses to make his or her “appearance” he or she will come away from this first court date with a “readiness conference” date usually about 30 days later.

If your lawyer uses a fax machine to “appear” then s/he does not actually go into court and, therefore, will not have spoken to the District Attorney or the Judge and will not have any information for you about your case other than what the next court date is.

(Please note that a judge does have the authority to require your presence in court and that, in some cases, actually going into court on the first date might be preferable depending on the facts of your case.)

For information about your case you should speak to a lawyer to determine which procedure might be best for you.