Snohomish County Clerks Office

Successfully navigating through criminal prosecution for driving under the influence of the State of Washington requires a clear understanding of the DUI court process. In other words, what is on your route will significantly reduce the amount of stress you feel when fighting a DUI charge.

While each court system in Washington varies a bit on how they treat the early stages of a criminal prosecution, the outline below will help you understand the judicial process as a whole:

When you are arrested for a crime, you have several court dates to go. Your first time the Court is called an indictment. Your next court date is called the preliminary or the Statute of the Conference. You can also have dates of attendance for motions or trial.

Charge

This is your first time to the Court and it is where you are officially referred to the charges against you. In the case of driving while impaired, you already know what the charge is before you even enter the courtroom. However, there may be additional costs that you were not aware of bad offenses such as driving or other criminal charges in the lawsuit filed after your arrest for drunk driving.

Depending on the skill, you'll be mailed a notice of hearing or you may search your quote (about 1 / 3 from the bottom) where it says mandatory appearance in court for your hearing date and time . If you are unsure of the date or time, call the office of the Clerk of the Court (numbers are available via the internet). The court you are in listed in the citation, for example a quotation marked "District Court and the crime happened in Snohomish County, you had an Internet search for" Snohomish County District Court. "

Arrive a few minutes earlier. Most courts have a computer printout of all the people scheduled for court that day, called file. These are usually printed prominently near the courtroom. Next to your name will be a courtroom. Here you go. If you're lost or can not find your courtroom, ask the clerk of the Court - they are usually very helpful.

Once you arrive at the courtroom of law, be prepared to wait. Most courts have either a video or a document that explains your rights to the indictment. If a paper, they want you to sign your name - saying that you understand your rights.

Finally, you will be called before the judge. No panic. This is not your time to explain what happened - there will be enough time for that later. Every judge wants to know indictment is whether you understand the charge (s) against you and if you want to plead guilty or not guilty. That's it.

Common sense would tell you that if you made a mistake, you should take it easy on the justice system by pleading guilty and the justice system take it easy on you not condemn you as hard as if you fought the costs. Unfortunately, the judiciary is not always based on common sense. In fact, you will most likely be punished worse if you plead guilty to the charge rather than fight the charge (s). In other words, do not plead guilty!

Once you have pleaded not guilty, the court will ask if you want a lawyer. The old cliched "The man who represents himself has a fool for a client" is very true. If you do not understand the rules of court and the law relating to DUI (or any other crime), you have no chance against a trained attorney.

Lawyers are of two types: private and public defenders. You do not need a lawyer with you during the questioning. If you are considering hiring a private attorney, you simply tell the judge that he or she will be happy - but you know.