Richmond DUI Cases in Court
The majority of all DUI cases in Richmond are bench trials. The only DUI cases that are heard by juries are third offense cases or those cases heard on appeal. Your Richmond DUI lawyer can guide you through the court proceedings of your case.
Length of a DUI Case in Richmond
A DUI case can take between 60 to 90 days to finalize from the time of your arrest to the time of trial. If it’s a felony case, it will usually take up to 6 months. The actual time of trial can vary significantly based on the facts of the case. If it is an aggravated case or one involving multiple witness the case could be prolonged.
Prosecutors in Richmond DUI Cases
A prosecutor in a DUI case must show that you were operating the vehicle in the City while under the influence of alcohol. They need to show when you were operating the vehicle and what actions brought you to the attention of law enforcement.
Next, they need to show that you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time you were in operation of the vehicle, and that these drugs or alcohol impaired you at such a level that you would be considered under the influence.
Prosecutors will have the officer testimony about your driving, tests results, and behavior. The prosecutors will then move to admit the certificate of analysis showing the results of your blood alcohol level test.
DUI Trends
Regarding Richmond, one thing we’ve noticed over the years is that the attorneys and the prosecutors actually have become more open to negotiation where we can raise strong legal or mitigating issues. This is a result of changes to the laws that have made punishments on DUIs much more severe.
Constitutional Issues in Richmond DUI Cases
There are constitutional issues that come up in DUI cases. The most common issues we see on DUI cases are Fourth or Fifth Amendment issues. Fourth Amendment issues are those issues that revolve around probable cause for the stop. In other words, did the officer have sufficient reason to pull you over? In addition to that, the Fourth Amendment also raises the issues of search and seizure. The question we raise is if the officer had probable cause to search you or your property in connection with a stop.
The other issues that are raised in the constitution is Fifth Amendment issues regarding self-incrimination. Some key question to ask would be whether you gave any statements after you were arrested that are going to be used against you, and if we can challenge whether you were advised of your constitutional rights when you gave those statements.
If we can raise these issues and show a constitutional violation, it can also result in a charge being reduced or dismissed in some cases.
