How do you postpone a DUI criminal trial to another date in Van Nuys Court?

DUI Arraignment vs. DUI Trial – Can I Postpone a DUI criminal trial ?

Question:  I have a DUI criminal trial in Van Nuys coming up that I can not attend.  It will be my first time ever in court and I do not know what to do.  Is there someone I can call to postpone a DUI criminal trial date by any chance as I will be out of the state and do not want to have to change my vacation plans if I do not have to.  Is this something you can help me with?  Please advise.

Answer:  You labeled the post “DUI criminal trial…”  Technically the first date is not the trial date, it is an arraignment date.  If you were going to take your DUI case to trial, it wouldn’t happen for a little while after the first court date (ie. arraignment date).

Van Nuys Criminal Court building in Los Angeles County

That being said, either you or your privately retained attorney needs to be at that arraignment date.  If you have a privately retained attorney and your matter is not a felony (ie. it is a misdemeanor as most first, second and third offense DUI cases are misdemeanor’s) and you were not specifically ordered to be there by the Judge, your DUI attorney can appear at Court without you needing to be there

If you have a Court hearing date set, either you or your privately retained attorney (per the limitations listed above) needs to be at the court date or it is likely the Judge will issue a Bench Warrant for failure to appear. Depending on the specifics of your case, your Van Nuys DUI attorney may be able to “advance” the court date to an earlier date when you can be there if necessary.

Whatever the case, it is a good idea to have a DUI attorney handle your Van Nuys DUI matter, regardless of whether or not you are going to be in town on the arraignment date.

Call me at 818-336-1DUI to discuss your case in more detail.  I can help you with it to defend your DUI case, and so you don’t have to miss vacation.    In the meantime, there is more information about DUI defense here:   DUI Defense

 

 

DUI & Criminal Defense Attorney
www.philhachelaw.com
Handling DUI and Criminal matters throughout Courts in Southern California including Van Nuys, San Fernando, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Metro, Bellflower, Alhambra, Malibu, Compton, Inglewood and other Courts.
Office in Sherman Oaks