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DUI Court Processing In Alabama

A DUI in Alabama will result in two separate types of cases – a criminal case filed by the state and a civil case filed by the Alabama Department of Public Safety. The court processing for DUI in Alabama is quite stringent and involves a lot of stages starting from arresting to the final trail.

 
 

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Various steps in DUI court processing in Alabama

  • If you are drunk driving and are made to stop by an officer, then the first stage is the arrest. As soon as you are arrested, you will be asked to submit your blood, breath or urine sample for chemical tests to check the BAC level in your blood. You will be made aware of your Miranda and Implied Consent rights.

  • The next step will involve the booking process where your fingerprints will be taken. You will also be searched and put in a holding cell and held in custody till you are found to be innocent or your case is resolved.
  • After being arrested and booked, you will have to be present for your first DUI court appearance called as the Arraignment. In this hearing, the judge will read the official charges against you and ask you to enter a plea. If you are guilty, then the judge will sentence you and if you are not guilty, then you will be on trail.
  • After the initial hearing, if you are found to be guilty and are charged with a felony DUI offense, then you will face the preliminary hearing. In this hearing, the judge will analyze the evidence and decide whether it is enough to support the charges. If there is not enough evidence, then you will be released as the case will be dismissed and if there is considerable amount of evidence, then the case will be set for trail.
  • If guilty, then a pre-trial hearing will give the judge necessary information about the case and update him. In the pre-trial conference, your DUI attorney in Alabama can have a plea negotiation with the prosecutor. A suitable negotiation in favor of you will help in the sentence being imposed but if a plea agreement is not successful, then the case will be on trail.
  • The trail is the most important aspect of an Alabama DUI case and is of two types - jury trials and bench trials. In jury trails, the judge will decide on the issues of the law and the issues related to facts are decided by the jury. However, in bench trials, the jury is not at all involved and the judge acts as both judge as well as jury. While a misdemeanor DUI case will be tried in the Municipal and District courts where there is not jury trail but only bench trail, a felony DUI case is heard only in circuit court which offers jury trails as well. If in the trail you are found to be innocent, then the case is immediately dismissed but if you are guilty, the judge will impose a sentence against you.
  • If you are convicted for a misdemeanor Alabama DUI case, then you can request for an appeal to the Circuit Court within 14 days of the decision provided by the lower court. The decision of the Circuit Court can be further appealed to the Alabama Appellate Courts or Federal Courts.

Therefore, a DUI case in Alabama can lead to a lot of legal issues in which you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. It is recommended to hire an experienced DUI attorney as soon as you are arrested for a DUI.