If you are arrested for the first time, you may not know what you should do or what to expect. It is important that people understand what they can do to protect themselves, by fully understanding what getting arrested means. Here is an idea of what you will go through if you are arrested by the police for a DUI or another reason.
1. You Will Be Taken To A Holding Cell
Once you are arrested you will be taken to a holding cell. You won't be put fully in jail yet, since you have not yet been charged with a crime. The police just need to arrest you if they have a suspicion that you have done something wrong. Then once you are arrested they have a certain amount of time, usually a couple days or less, to gather information and evidence about your situation to determine if there is enough evidence to charge you. If they can't find enough evidence then you are let go (it doesn't affect your record or anything) and you are finished. However, if they do find enough information and have enough evidence to charge you, you will continue to the next step.
2. You Will Have An Arraignment
After you have been charged with the crime you will have an arraignment. At any point you can contact an attorney, but you should definitely do so now. You can even contact an attorney before you have been charged, just to make sure you are protected. But once you are charged you should definitely ask for an attorney. The time between your charge and your arraignment shouldn't be very long. You will be kept in a holding cell or a jail until you can go before the judge to make a plea. You can either plea guilty or not guilty. If you plea guilty the judge will give you your sentencing right there. It will be determined if you have jail time, fines, community service, mandated therapy and so forth. If you plea not guilty, there will be bail and a court date set. If you can't pay the bail then you will wait in jail until the trial. If you can meet bail, you will be let go under conditions until the trial.
3. You Will Have A Trial
With a not guilty plea you will go on trial. At any time you can take a deal from the prosecutor,. Otherwise you and your lawyer will work on you case and you will appear before a judge, and/or a jury and get a decision of guilty or not guilty.
By understanding the process you can protect yourself.
