After a not guilty plea is entered to the DUI charges at arraignment, the court will schedule your case for a Pretrial Conference. The first Pretrial Conference usually occurs anywhere from four to eight weeks after the arraignment. San Francisco Bay Area counties may use different terms for what they call this hearing, but the form and substance is basically the same.
The DUI Pretrial Conference is a court hearing that usually attended by the client. The purpose of the Pretrial Conference is to discuss the DUI case with the local prosecutor if an effort to reach a settlement or plea bargain. Ultimately, the district attorney will make a settlement offer and the DUI client will need to decide whether or not to accept or to assert their right to a jury trial. Since these settlement negotiations are often fluid, Pretrial Conferences are regularly continued to continued so that the prosecutor and DUI client can spend more time to consider settlement.
It's crucial for the DUI attorney to properly prepare for the Pretrial Conference. Possible DUI defenses must be fully investigated and special consideration needs to be made for the DUI client's immigration status or how possible settlement may affect employment or licensing issues for the client. That said, a good DUI attorney will always begin their investigation of the client's DUI case immediately and pursue all relevant discovery after the arraignment is completed.
In the perfect world, a DUI client will be given the best possible settlement offer at their first Pretrial Conference and their attorney will have completed investigation into the facts of the case such that an informed decision regarding the plea bargain can be made. The reality is, however, that the district attorney's settlement offer is subject to change over time. Most often, the prosecutors first settlement offer is rather harsh and it makes sense for the DUI lawyer to continue the Pretrial Conference. Unfortunately, not all DUI lawyers care about the final result of their clients cases. Since most DUI lawyers are hired on a flat fee basis, it's not in their financial interest to continue their clients cases, even if it means a better result. Too often DUI clients are compelled by their attorneys to take the deal even though by not taking it, they could get a better result. This is why it's so critical that you do your research before hiring a DUI attorney and make sure you decide upon a lawyer you can trust.
For more information, contact San Francisco Bay Area DUI defense attorney Nors Davidson (415) 601-4140 or visit
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