Brooke
County Sheriff's Department
From:
Sheriff Richard D Ferguson
DUI's are a serious offense.
Please read this and tell your friends and loved ones. Don't Drink and Drive.
Typical DUI Procedures
Following an arrest, the
person will be processed, including and Intoximeter
Test, fingerprinting, and other related paperwork. The person will either be
issued a citation for the offense, or be taken to jail to await arraignment in
front of a Magistrate. The decision as to whether a person is cited or taken to
jail is made by the arresting officer based upon the behavior of the person
arrested and the crime or crimes charged.
Following the arrest, the
arresting officer will file a criminal complaint with the Magistrate Court.
This is the formal charging document and contains a description of the crimes
and their formal charging language. This document begins the Magistrate Court
procedures.
The officer will also file
a "Statement of Arresting Officer" form with the West Virginia
Division of Motor Vehicles. This document contains details of the arrest. This
document begins the administrative procedures for the suspension of the arrestee's
driver's license. The DMV will send a letter to the arrestee indicating that
they are going to have their license suspended for the DUI arrest. The letter
gives the arrestee 20 days to respond and request an administrative hearing on
the matter or accept the suspension as it stands. The letter spells out the
length of suspension and a starting date for the suspension.
The Magistrate Court
process and the DMV process are entirely separate matters with the exception
that a "guilty" plea in Magistrate Court will cause an automatic
suspension, even if an administrative hearing has been held or requested, as
long as no administrative decision has been formally adopted by DMV.
The arrestee, if issued a
citation will need to appear in front of a Magistrate within 5 days of the
issuance of the citation or an arrest warrant will be issued. The magistrate
will then conduct an arraignment - the formal notification of the charges by
the court, the formal notification of the arrestee's rights, application for
court appointed counsel, and issuance of bail. Bail is the formal surety that a
person will return to the court for their bail. It can be in the form of
personal recognizance - A simple promise document - or more complex with many
restrictions or a requirement to put up a bond with money or bondsman or
property.
Following the arraignment,
if bail is posted, the person is released until they are notified by mail of
their court date. This normally takes several weeks. In the case of a person
whom does not "make bail" the person is remanded to the Regional Jail
to await a court date. This may also take several weeks. The person sits in
jail until that time or until they post bail.
During this delay, most
people either hire an attorney themselves or get notification that the court
has appointed the public defender to represent them in court. The
"defendant" will also usually meet with their attorney during this
time to discuss the case in detail.
During this delay, the
"defendant" will also usually receive their letter from DMV. It
normally takes several weeks to receive this letter. Their attorney will almost
certainly respond and request a hearing.
When the date for court
arrives, the defendant will come to the court and have their day in court. This
case may go to trail - as we have all seen on TV - the case may be continued
until another date. - to allow one side or the other
more time for review - or the case may be plea bargained. The plea bargain is
the most common by far. During this process the Prosecutor or Defendant
(usually through his defense counsel) will make an offer to settle the case
without a trail. Normally, both sides will give and take in the negotiations.
Normally, a defendant would plead guilty or no contest to one or more of the
charges in exchange for a near minimum sentence. A typical sentence to a
"guilty" plea of DUI, a sentence of 6 days in jail, with 5 of those
days converted to community service instead of actual jail time. The final day
would actually be served in jail at the regional jail. In addition, the court
imposes costs and fines as prescribed by the plea bargain. Community Service is
arranged through the Community Service officer at his discretion.
This plea bargain results
in a criminal conviction. This conviction is permanent and will NEVER leave a
person's arrest record. The only exception is through a process of expungement - which is not likely in a DUI case due to the
enhanced penalties for 2nd and 3rd offense.
If a guilty plea was entered
as part of the plea bargain, the defendant will most likely have their driver's
license suspended, unless the administrative hearing has already been held and
the examiner has already ruled in favor of the defendant.
For a first offense DUI,
the license suspension is six months, or until the defendant has completed a
safety and treatment program and paid all of the costs, and fees associated
with the conviction. If the defendant pays all of the fees quickly and attends
a safety and treatment course immediately, they may be able to be reinstated in
3 months instead of waiting the full 6 months.
Another avenue available to
the defendant is to enter the Lock and Ride program. In the program, the
defendant has their license suspended for a small period (one month), then as a
device installed in their car. The device is used to check the alcoholic
content of the driver's blood before the car is started, and periodically when
operating. The device remains in the car for a period of time determined by the
program. The defendant can only operate that vehicle during the program.
The conviction will trigger
enhanced penalties for later offenses of DUI for the TEN YEARS.
Brooke County Sheriff's Department
Sheriff Richard D Ferguson
Created by: T Jarrell