DUI Court Processing In Indiana

It is important for you to have an understanding of the DUI criminal court process if you have been arrested for drunk driving in Indiana. For a thorough understanding of the process refer to your DUI/OUI defense attorney.

Being Arraigned

The first time you appear in court after being arrested for driving under the influence in Indiana is known as an arraignment. This is where one charged with drunk driving will stand in front of a court and be formally charged with DUI/OUI. The drunk driving offender will have to enter a plea at this hearing. A guilty plea will lead to sentencing at this point unless it is differed for another date. A not guilty plea will cause the court process to continue.

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Optional Deferment Programs

Those charged with drunk driving for the first time may be offered a deferment and have charges dropped. If a person charged with drunk driving accepts a deferment his or her license will be suspended from a month to a year and they will have to participate in treatment program and probation. The driving under the influence charge will be dropped and no record of the offense will be recorded on the persons record.

The Pretrial Hearing

The reason for the pretrial hearing is to update the court on what is going on with defendants case since the arraignment. Evidential issues and problems with future scheduling of the trial will be taken care of at the pretrial hearing. A meeting with the prosecutor and the DUI defense attorney sometimes takes place to see if the two can agree on a plea bargain. If a bargain is made, the agreement will be shown to the judge at the pretrial hearing and be entered into court records. There will be no trial after this, However if no agreement is made the trial will be scheduled for a future date.

Pretrial Filings

A DUI Defense lawyer that wants to file motions to throw out evidence for legal reasons will file a motion with the judge. A hearing may take place and testimony will be given and evidence will be shown to the court. Most of the time in an Indiana drunk driving case a DUI defense lawyer will try to get any chemical testing results thrown out. If this is possible and the court agrees with the defense teams arguments the evidence will be deemed inadmissible in court and will be thrown out by the judge.

DUI Criminal Trial

The majority of Indiana drunk driving cases never go to trial they are resolved before hand. If a DUI case does make it to trial, it will be trial before a judge or before a jury. In a trial before a judge the judge will decide guilt or innocents and in a jury trial a jury of Indiana citizens will decide.