Legal Question in DUI Law in Washington

Re: First DUI

Varying by the county/city you are in, the public defense is almost always provided by the same office. So, find out who that is even if you don't have a date. The court can tell you. Since it was a state trooper you are likely to be in county (district) court, not municipal court. Sign a speedy trial waiver and make a copy of the documents showing your planned trip (the airline ticket for example). Leave these with the office that will provide your public defense. The public defender usually isn't assigned until you have a court date which could be anywhere from days to months to years away (I represent someone right now who's case was 1 and 1/2 years ago). Get the number for that office. When your family gets the court date you can be in touch with the public defender and make sure the secretary gets them the documents you already left for them. That should be everything they need to continue the case until you get back from the funeral. Needless to say, the Judge may appreciate seeing a copy of the death certificate.

At your service,

Re: First DUI

Just adding to Mr. White's response: as to the DOL hearing, you should be able to send the form in without a copy of your court paperwork. I've never seen that required before. You only have twenty days to send it in and I suggest you mail it certified/return receipt to have proof that it was mailed timely. It is not unusual to go through a DUI arrest and end up with no court paperwork (actually, absent it being a municipal law enforcement arrest, that's the norm). You should get something in the mail in a few weeks. There's not much you can do re: rushing the process or getting a court date lined up. Law enforcement sends its papers to the appropriate prosecutor who has to review and determine charges, and who then files the same which prompts the court date. It is not unusual for this to take weeks, and it can actually drag out over months. You can try following Mr. White's advice re: the public defender and providing them proof- I don't know if that will work, but it's worth a try. The only other option is to check the district court clerk's weekly. Unfortunately, you have no idea which court. It'll go by county, so whichever county you were stopped in, call that district court clerk's to see if there's a case under your name.