Getting pulled over and arrested for a DUI is a traumatizing experience. It’s relatively safe to assume that you know of at least one person who has been pulled over and/or arrested for a DUI as it isn’t as uncommon of an occurrence as it once was. This isn’t to say that it will ever happen to you or a loved one, but in the event that it does, it’s imperative that you are informed on what happens during and after an arrest so you know the necessary steps you are to take to try to prevent a flaw on your record.

Let’s be frank–getting a DUI sucks. The long hours you might have spent in a holding cell waiting to be released could have been some of the longest hours of your life. The entire experience could even make you feel like a dirty criminal that robbed an old lady or punched a baby or worse. In addition to the dirty conditions of the “drunk tank” and the questionable characters you may have been sitting next to while waiting to be released, the idea of having a blemished record for an ugly mistake can make a person feel sick. Here at the Law Offices of Max Gorby, our primary goal is to alleviate you of your stress and fight for you to make sure that your one mistake won’t cost you anything more than it already has.

The second you get out of the holding cell is relieving, but that relief is also short-lived. You are out of a perceived hell, but your car is impounded, your license is gone, and now you have a court date that will determine if you go to jail or not depending on the circumstances of your case (and how good your attorney is). This is no time to sulk or to wait and see what happens however, as there is little to no time to spare getting your life back on track.

One of the first things you should do upon getting out of jail is to handle the time-sensitive matters at hand. These include, but are not limited to, finding an experienced attorney and requesting an APS (DMV) hearing. If you obtain an attorney first, your attorney can contest your license suspension or revocation as long as you speak with your attorney within 10 calendar days from the date of your arrest as your lawyer will need to request a hearing for you. If you or your attorney do not request this DMV hearing within the allotted 10 days, your license will become automatically suspended after 30 calendar days. Here at the Law Offices of Max Gorby, we take care of all of that for you. From the moment you sign us on to represent you, we will contact the DMV to ensure that you don’t lose your license immediately. In fact, we will handle the DMV matter in its entirety allowing you the extra time to handle your normal affairs. You just need to make sure that you contact us without too much delay.

Even though you may feel guilty leaving the holding cell you lived in for numerous hours, keep in mind that an arrest does not make you guilty of anything. When you are released, you will be given a summons to appear in court on a specific date. This appearance is your first date with court and is called the arraignment. At the arraignment, the presiding judge will let you know what charges are against you. At this point, you have three options to respond: guilty, not guilty, or no contest. If you choose to plead guilty, you are giving up your right to fight and taking a plea bargain that could include hefty fines, community service, work release, court fees, and alcohol classes. If you choose not guilty, you are choosing to fight the case and try to get your charges lessened or dismissed. If you choose no contest, you are basically conceding the charge without admitting guilt or presenting a defense. In many cases, a no-contest plea will result in similar terms to the guilty plea.

If you choose the Law Offices of Max Gorby to fight your case for you, we won’t require you to even show up to the arraignment as we will show up on your behalf and enter the plea that you and our offices agreed on per our prior discussions about your case. Following the arraignment, we may file pretrial motions or negotiate a plea bargain (depending on the case). During this time, we will proactively and aggressively work on your case to do whatever we possibly can to either reduce your sentence or get your case dismissed entirely before the first time you even have to show up in court.

If we can’t come to terms with the prosecuting attorney’s office, a trial will be set and held in court. This court is presided over by a judge with the verdict determined by a jury. After both the jury and the judge hear all of the evidence and testimonies from the witnesses of both sides (defense and prosecution), the jury will go into liberation to decide upon a verdict. At this point, we await to hear the jury’s decision on the matter and if the verdict is guilty, the judge will determine the sentencing. If the verdict is not guilty, your case will be dismissed and you will walk out of court free and clear of any and all wrongdoing.

Here at the Law Offices of Max Gorby, we will do everything possible to alleviate the newly added stress to your life. If we can, we will nip your case in the bud and get it dismissed as soon as possible. If your case does happen to go to trial though, Attorney Gorby’s record of trial success will prove invaluable, as he is one of the best in Los Angeles. Mr. Gorby doesn’t hold back any punches when it comes to fighting for you and he will take the gloves off for each and every one of his clients.

Go to sleep tonight knowing that everything has finally taken care of. Give us a call today to
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