If You Have Been Charged With A Washington State DUI Then Your Appearance In Court Is Mandatory!
By Diego Vargas | July 4, 2009If you have been charged with a Washington State DUI then you must appear in court for your arraignment. Unlike most gross misdemeanors, a Washington State DUI charge will require you to appear in court for your arraignment. RCW 46.61.50571 states:
(1) A defendant who is charged with an offense involving driving while under the influence as defined in RCW 46.61.502, driving under age twenty-one after consuming alcohol as defined in RCW 46.61.503, or being in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence as defined in RCW 46.61.504, shall be required to appear in person before a judicial officer within one judicial day after the arrest if the defendant is served with a citation or complaint at the time of the arrest. A court may by local court rule waive the requirement for appearance within one judicial day if it provides for the appearance at the earliest practicable day following arrest and establishes the method for identifying that day in the rule.
(2) A defendant who is charged with an offense involving driving while under the influence as defined in RCW 46.61.502, driving under age twenty-one after consuming alcohol as defined in RCW 46.61.503, or being in physical control of a vehicle while under the influence as defined in RCW 46.61.504, and who is not served with a citation or complaint at the time of the incident, shall appear in court for arraignment in person as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fourteen days after the next day on which court is in session following the issuance of the citation or the filing of the complaint or information.
(3) At the time of an appearance required by this section, the court shall determine the necessity of imposing conditions of pretrial release according to the procedures established by court rule for a preliminary appearance or an arraignment.
(4) Appearances required by this section are mandatory and may not be waived.
What does this statute mean? Well, if you were arrested for DUI and the arresting officer served you with a citaion, i.e. ticket for DUI, then the law requires you to “appear in person before a judicial officer within one judicial day after the arrest.” This means exactly what it says. You will have to appear in court quickly.
However, if the arresting officer did not serve you with a citation, then you will be required to appear in court no “later than fourteen days after the next day on which court is in session following the issuance of the citation or the filing of the complaint or information.” This means you will have to appear in court within 14 days of charges being filed.
This means if the arresting officer did not give you a citation then you should watch the mail for a summons because you will have to appear in court within two weeks of the charges being filed.
If you have been charged with a Washington State DUI or Physical Control contact the Seattle DUI Lawyers of Fox Bowman Duarte, L.L.P. for a free consultation.
