The Criminal Defense Process

Following an arrest, officers in Utah have the authority to impound a DUI suspect’s car. In order to have your vehicle released from impound, you must pay a $350 DUI impound fee to the DMV and obtain a release authorization. Then you must take the release authorization to the impound lot where your car was towed and pay the towing and storage fees. Click here for more information on how to obtain the release from the DMV and locate your car.

Utah law does not allow DUI offenders to obtain a restricted license to and from work or school. If you are caught driving for any reason during the suspension period, your suspension time will be doubled, and you will be cited for a new charge, Driving on Suspension, a Class B Misdemeanor.

1. 1st Offense = 120 days
2. 2nd or subsequent offense = 24 months
3. 1st refusal to submit a chemical test = 18 months
4. 2nd refusal to submit to a chemical test or 1st refusal with prior DUI conviction = 36 months

To preserve your right to drive in Utah, you must submit a written request for hearing within 10 calendar days of the date of your arrest. If you contact our office at 801-746-0447 within the 10 days, we will submit the request on your behalf, free of charge or obligation! After you submit the request, you will be mailed a notice of hearing in about 7-10 days, after you submit your request. A hearing must be held within 29 days of the date of your arrest. DMV hearings can be won and your license saved on many grounds, so it is important to have a skillful and knowledgeable attorney represent you at the hearing.

In addition to the impact to your driving privileges, a DUI or other criminal charge can have an even more drastic consequences for holders of professional licenses, including suspension, decertification, probation, or revocation of a host of professional licenses and certifications. An experienced DUI and criminal defense attorney can help guide you through your profession’s requirements from the very start. Read more about this topic here.

The preliminary hearing serves several purposes:

1. First, the preliminary hearing is a sort of screening mechanism. At a preliminary hearing, the rules of evidence are not strictly adhered to. Particularly, hearsay evidence is admissible. At the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor must present enough evidence to establish that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed and that the defendant was the person who committed the crime. The prosecutor does not have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt; that is the standard of proof at trial. If the judge is convinced that probable cause exists to believe that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed it, the case will be bound over for trial.
2. The second purpose served by the preliminary hearing is that it serves as a method of discovery for the defense. The preliminary hearing allows the defense attorney a sort of sneak peek at the prosecution’s case. A skilled defense attorney can learn a great deal about the prosecution’s case at the preliminary hearing. The defense attorney is allowed to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses and can even present his own witnesses if he chooses to. It is very rare for the defense to call any witnesses to testify at a preliminary hearing. Since the preliminary hearing is on the record, the witness’s preliminary hearing testimony can be introduced at a later trial to impeach the credibility of a witness whose trial testimony is inconsistent with his or her preliminary hearing testimony.

After a case has been bound over from the Preliminary Hearing, an Arraignment is scheduled. At this hearing, the defendant is required to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If you enter a plea of guilty, the case will be scheduled for sentencing. If you plead not guilty, your case will be scheduled for a Pre-trial Conference.

A skilled attorney may be able to file Motion to Suppress asking the court to suppress some or all of the evidence or a Motion to Dismiss asking the court to dismiss the case in its entirety. If the Motion is granted, a case can be dismissed or seriously weakened. There may be several motions that can be filed, depending on the facts of your case.

If your are unable to negotiate a satisfactory plea agreement and your case is not dismissed on a Motion to Suppress or Motion to Dismiss, you have the right to have your case tried before a judge (bench trial) or a jury (jury trial). The size of the jury is determined by the most serious charge filed against you in your case. At the trial the prosecution will be required to present witnesses and evidence that supports the charges against the defendant. At trial the prosecution has the burden of proving the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In order to convict, all members of the jury must agree to find the defendant guilty; this is called a unanimous verdict.