• Arraignment
  • An arraignment is a formality wherein a defendant either enters a plea to the charges or enters a plea of not guilty and the case is set for a pretrial conference.
• Petrial Conferences
  • A pretrial conference, of which there are usually several, is where a defense attorney and the prosecutor engage in negotiations.
• Defendant's Personal Presence and Plea in Absentia
  • In misdemeanor cases, a court’s “blanket policy” directive that all defendants appear personally violates their right to appear by counsel
    • A misdemeanor defendant may appear by counsel “unless the circumstances of an individual case justify ordering an accused to appear in person”).
  • Both the due process and jury trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. and California Constitutions prohibit punishing a defendant for asserting his or her right to a trial, instead of pleading guilty.
  • Despite the constitution, though, a growing number of judges do threaten greater penalties later for not pleading guilty early.
  • As noted in People v. Morales (1967), “[i]t is clear that by increasing the penalty in the case of a defendant who chooses to rely on the presumption of innocence, to put the state to the test of proving its case, and to assert his right to a jury trial, one is in effect penalizing a defendant who asserts rights to which he is entitled.” Id., at 546. See also Yale Law Journal discussion.
• Failures to Appear
• A willful failure to appear (PC § 853.7) may not properly be added as a charge in a pending case based merely upon the fact that the failure to appear occurred in the proceedings in that case.

PROVIDING EXPERT DUI DEFENSE IN THE FOLLOWING CALIFORNIA COUNTIES:

If you were arrested in any of the Counties listed below, please feel free to call the authors of California Drunk Driving Law at: 888-9-DUI-911.