Legal Question in DUI Law in Washington
Last April, I had taken prescription Ambien and actually found to be sleep-DRIVING at 4am. An officer pulled me over near my home. Until he got me out of the car, I felt as if this was all a very scary, vivid dream. I told the officer what I had taken, and he took me to the hospital ER 2 blocks away for a blood test. I tested negative for any other prescription or illegal drugs, so the officer gave me a ride home and asked to see the prescription to ensure it was in my name, etc. He told me I was REALLY lucky; he wasn't going to arrest me or write me a ticket. I was surprised yet relieved. I was moving 6 hours away in a few days. I was given an incident report detailing what had happened and what to do about picking up my car. The following week I checked court records and ticket information at our courthouse and online, and found nothing, The next month, I also obtained a copy of my driving record for new insurance. No mention of a DUI there, either. Meanwhile, I am in the process of filing for divorce. I went to the court website this morning to look up my divorce case #, and there, low and behold, is a case for "criminal traffic" "DI" (driving intoxicated) that had been posted on 8/13/09, four months after the fact! I called the court to try to clear things up or see what I needed to do, and I was lucky I did--when they returned my call this afternoon, I found out that I am already scheduled for arraignment the day after tomorrow at 9am, with no way to reschedule! I do not have an attorney lined up, I don't have any idea what I should plead, and I don't have any of the records I would want to present. I have to get on a plane tomorrow afternoon, and I was told that I will have a public defender assigned to me. However, it will be an "attorney of the day", so not someone with whom I can planm ahead more than 15 minutes in advance, they said.
How did this happen? What should I bring to court? As I was shuffled around to different offices and phone extensions today, I heard everything from "they'll probably drop it for taking so long" to "you're looking at a minimum of 24 hours in jail" to "you'll probably have to stay in the county until your trial." One lady told me that my bail was set at $500. Does these mean I'll have to pay a percentage of this to stay out of jail tomorrow? Help-I'm freaking out! I am 32 years old, and I have never been to court for anything in my life, nor have I ever had a traffic violation...
2 Answers from Attorneys
Wow. That's a lot to go through and answer. Your first hearing, an arraignment, is to advise you of the charges against you and set a pretrial (and in some courts, a trial) date. As this is your first time in trouble ever, you are probably not looking at having to post a bail. You should plead NOT GUILTY at this juncture. You need to sit down with an attorney as soon as possible after this court hearing and go over your options.
It is not likely they will "drop it for taking so long". The prosecutor has two years to bring the case and, depending on the court, it's not unusual for months to pass before an arraignment is set. True, the minimum jail required if you pled straight up to a DUI is a day in jail. However, you have a potential defense and I would expect a plea offer that might take this out of DUI and into a lesser charge. DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY! Plead not guilty, get your next court date, and get yourself to an attorney for a consultation. If you cannot afford an attorney, public defense counsel are lawyers and most are quite good at handling these matters.
Mr. Bassett gives a good answer to this question. It is also my opinion that they will not drop this case, that you should enter a not guilty plea and get an attorney as soon as possible. You may have to post bail. I'd take in proof of employment ( a letter from your boss), proof of your prescription (to show the attorney of the day if you haven't hired one by then), perhaps proof that you have a divorce pending and that you are moving (so that the court can calendar at your convenience rather than theirs). Contact me directly if you'd like further assistance. I may be able to appear with you if you contact me right away.
At your service,
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