subject: Know More About The Drunk Driving Legal Proceedings [print this page] What happens after you are arrested for a DUI charge? This is a pertinent question when it comes to drunk driving cases. Your first move to secure adequate representation at a court of law is to appoint a drunk driving attorney for your defense. He/she is the right professional to tackle the situation and help you out.
The trial process has certain stages. Here is a brief overview of what follows the arrest.
Arraignment: This is the initiation of the court proceedings. The judge gets a clear idea about the charges on which your arrest has been conducted. Then he/she asks whether the accused pleads guilty or not guilty.
Choose an attorney before this stage. If you dont have the means to pay for an attorney, the court appoints one to defend you. Whether you have selected an attorney for yourself or have opted for a public defender, the prosecutor provides him/her with all the relevant documents to the case.
Preliminary Hearing: At this stage, the judge assesses the evidence on which the case is built. This is necessary to ascertain whether the prosecutor can convince the jury about the offense at the time of trial.
It is at this time that your drunk driving attorney can negotiate with the prosecutor about the charges brought against you. Maybe you could get away with a minor charge if your fault was not so serious and there is a lack of evidence to support it as well. Your attorney may also be capable of negotiating a less severe sentence for you.
Pre-Trial Motion: This is the right time to bring motions to keep out seriously damaging evidence at the time of the trial. Your attorney knows that evidence like alcohol bottles or drugs found in your vehicle or anything you said at the time of the arrest may cause severe damage at the trial. That is why he/she prevents this evidence from being presented at the court.
Trial: After the jury is selected, the trial begins. Both the prosecutor and the defender present their side of the case. Next is the turn of the witnesses to testify at court. These witnesses are then cross-examined by the lawyers.
Your attorney brings in motions regarding the prosecutors arguments. The lawyers then present their closing arguments. The judge instructs the jury about the legalities of the case. Jury deliberation and the passing of the verdict follow this.
Sentence: A good Tennessee drunk driving attorney may utilize strategies and try to reduce the severity of the sentence. However, the sentence is always dependent on the gravity of your offense. The usual penalties for these offenses, if proved, are jail term, fines, community service, installation of ignition interlock device, admission to an alcohol abuse program, and so on.
Nashville lawyers directory has been exclusively designed to refer qualified attorneys in Nashville. You can visit this site to acquire better service from reputed law firms.
