Utah DUI Criminal Court Attorney

Salt Lake City DUI Defense Lawyer

Utah DUI Case Law

Criminal Court Proceedings

On the DUI Summons and Citation, located at the upper left-hand corner, the Citation lists the name of the Court the officer intends to file the citation, the location of the Court, and sometimes the phone number will be written. Printed is fine print below that information is a promise to appear within 5 and 14 days. Failure of the driver to appear within the 5 and 14 days to the Court may result in the Court issuing a Bench Warrant for the driver’s arrest and even an additional charge of Failure to Appear.

From that point, the proceedings are regulated by the Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Utah Code Ann. § 77-1-1 et seq. Speaking generally, if the case is a misdemeanor charge, the initial hearing shall be an arraignment. At the arraignment the Court will advise the suspect of the pending charge or charges, hearing the defendant’s plea, and ask of the defendant about the retention of counsel. The next hearing should either be a pre-trial settlement conference for a bench trial. Depending on the particular court and whether a written demand for a trial by jury had been timely submitted. Except for a sentencing hearing, if convicted, the final hearing typically is a trial, whether a bench trial or trial by jury.

If the matter is a felony offense, including a felony DUI, the initial hearing is actually named an Initial Appearance. There, the Court reads the charge or charges to the defendant and decides whether appoint counsel. Then depending on the County, the Court will set the next hearing. That next hearing may be a Preliminary Hearing, a Roll-Call Hearing, or a Waiver Hearing. An attorney worth his weight in salt will know what type of hearing will be set next, and he will know the purpose of each of those hearings.

Once a Preliminary Hearing is held and if the Court binds the case over, a term of art, then the case may proceed towards trial. There may be motions filed by either the State or the defendant’s counsel. There may be a Pretrial Settlement Conference. But if the case does not get settled, then the case will be set for trial. The trial will be a trial by jury in a felony offense.