Many people have no idea about how to handle an out of state DUI. How one handles these out of state affairs is very important as it may go a long way in terms of determining how long the case might take and what penalty will be passed. Getting a DUI is an expensive affair because thereafter all insurance firms will be costly when covering your vehicle. Getting a UDI in another state is worse due to possible travel costs and accommodation charges that may be incurred in the period that your hearing will be taking place.
After being arrested in the guest state Y your personal information will be shared to your home state X in addition to the nature of your DUI. After being arrested usually a date of summon is issued where you will be expected to show and plead either guilty or not guilty. Subsequent dates after this are also very important. Chances are your license will be suspended for up to a year. You will be expected to respond and attend to out of state hearings. These should not be taken lightly because failure to honor these hearings will lead to an ultimate arrest. If the out of state hearings are not observed there will be a bench warrant. This is a warrant issued from the court and is used for indictments and to bring in an individual who has been subpoenaed and is still uncooperative. The guest state has the authority to hold hearings, press charges and administer fine if need be. You will not be allowed to leave until after you have cleared your fine and other punishments such as community service have been cleared.
It is important not to miss any out of state hearing no matter how far it may be, the guest state which is also the arresting state will not care much about how difficult it is to attend them. The suspension of your driving license will not only affect your guest state but your home state too.
After being arrested it’s important and wise to seek a DUI lawyer from the guest state since he or she may be familiar with the regulations and the handling of the guest state. Your lawyer may be able to get you off on technicalities for instance if the correct procedures were not followed during the arrest and the testing of urine or blood for the blood alcohol content. You should not at any one point help the prosecution to establish burden of proof which lies with them. This means that you should not answer questions you have not been asked and answer questions asked in the presence of your lawyer to avoid incriminating yourself.
It is better to take precautions and take a cab or the bus especially after consumption of any intoxicating substance irrespective of how small the amount is to avoid getting into trouble with the law. A nice out of state vacation can be spoilt by an arrest incident.
About Guest Post Author:
Christopher J McCann is a DUI lawyer with a law firm located in California. You can visit my website by going to cjmdefense.com to learn my services. You can also follow Christopher J McCann tweets on twitter at @CJM_Law_Firm should you need information about drunk driving laws.
