DWI Court Appearances

Introduction

Throughout your case, you may be required to attend a number of court appearances.  There are two types of court appearances: Criminal and Civil.  The type and purpose of each of these possible court appearances are explained briefly below.

Criminal Court Appearances

Arraignment:

This court appearance is the first court appearance scheduled when the crime being charged is a misdemeanor or lesser offense (i.e. not a gross misdemeanor or felony).  Your presence at this appearance may or may not be required depending on the county and/or court in which you are being asked to appear.  If you are charged with a misdemeanor DWI, you can often avoid appearing for this first court date by hiring an experienced DWI attorney.  If your appearance is necessary, this is simply an opportunity to either:  (1) enter a plea of not guilty and schedule a pre-trial (explained below) or (2) attempt to resolve your case either through dismissal of charges, plea negotiation or other available means.  You will be informed in advance if your attendance is required.

Pre-Trial / Settlement Conference / Default Omnibus Hearing:

The various names of this court appearance are interchangeable.  Your presence at this appearance is required unless informed by us to the contrary. In short, this court appearance is simply to determine if the case can be resolved without the need for further court appearances.  This appearance is simply an opportunity for your attorney (and you, if necessary) to:  (1) speak with the prosecutor about the status of the case and possible resolutions; and/or (2) arrange for the exchange of additional evidence; and/or (3) schedule a Contested Probably Cause/Evidentiary Hearing (explained below); and/or (4) schedule the matter for Trial.  In any event, typically no evidence is presented at this hearing and no witnesses need be present.

Contested Probably Cause / Evidentiary Hearing:

Your presence at this court appearance is required.  This court appearance serves as an opportunity for your attorney to either:  (1) request that the Court dismiss all or some of the criminal charges against you; and/or (2) request that the Court not allow the prosecution to admit some or all of the evidence against you (which can sometimes lead to the dismissal of the charges referenced above).  Normally, this court appearance will require the presence of any arresting officer(s) or other persons who participated in gathering any evidence that would be offered by the opposing party against you.  On occasion, it may be necessary for us to arrange to have witnesses (who can testify on your behalf) to participate at this court appearance.

Trial (Jury or Court):

Your presence at this court appearance is required.  At this court appearance, your case will either be resolved (discussed in general in the Arraignment section above) or continued to a trial.  You have a Constitutional right to have a trial before either (1) a jury of your peers (i.e. Jury Trial) or (2) a Judge (i.e. Court Trial).  In either event, you are presumed innocent unless and until the prosecution meets its burden in proving all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Trial process begins with the jury selection, or Voir Dire.  The prosecutor and your attorney will ask the potential jurors a series of questions in order to ascertain whether certain jury members may help or hinder the case against you.  After the jury has been selected, both parties will present an opening statement, which serves to outline each side’s theory of the case.  Each side will then be given an opportunity to question or cross-examine witnesses that give testimony either for or against you.  Finally, both sides will give a closing argument that summarizes their case in a final attempt to sway the jury to their side of the case.

It is important for you to know that you have certain Constitutional rights if you do go to Trial.  You have the right to confront and cross-examine any witnesses against you.  In addition, you have the right to testify or not testify.  Finally, you can use the power of the Court to subpoena witnesses to testify on your behalf if you think such testimony would refute any evidence being offered by the prosecution.  If you are found Not Guilty, your case is over (notwithstanding the fact that, under certain instances, the prosecution can file and appeal to an appellate court which may require a new set of appearances).  If you are found Guilty, you will then proceed to sentencing, which may occur immediately following the finding of Guilty or may be as a separate court appearance.

Sentencing:

Your presence at this court appearance is required.  At this court appearance, the Judge will hand down your sentence, which may involve the stay of imposition of time in jail, fines and other conditions of such stay or imposition and other conditions of probation (of which you must abide by during the term of your probation).  An experienced DWI attorney may be able to negotiate alternative to jail such as treatment, electronic home monitoring, release programs or community service.  You and your attorney will have an opportunity prior to the sentencing to discuss the possible sentencing outcomes.

Civil Court Appearances

Depending on the type of case for which you have hired our firm to handle, you may also (or instead) be involved with some civil court appearances.  Generally speaking, and unless specifically required by the Court, you appearance at such court appearances is not required.  However, depending on the specific facts of your case, your appearance at court appearances may be requested.  The following are examples of Civil Court Appearances:

Implied Consent Hearing:

Sometimes referred to as an “IC” or “Driver’s License Trial”, this court appearance is like a Court Trial (explained above) in which the Attorney for the Petitioner (you) and the Attorney for the Respondent (the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General) argue before the Court seeking, among other things, the rescission of the revocation of your Minnesota driving privileges.  It is conducted in the same manner as a Contested Probable Cause / Evidentiary Hearing (explained above).  In short, it is the Petitioner’s (you) burden to show that the revocation of your driving privilege is not justified.  If you fail to meet that burden, the Court will sustain the revocation of your driver's license.  In other words, you will lose your driving privileges.

B-Card Hearing:

This hearing takes place if you are alleged to have violated the conditions of your B-Card (a driver' license where use of alcohol has been restricted).   It is conducted in the same manner as the Implied Consent Hearing (explained above), except that we are seeking the reinstatement of B-Card driving privileges.

Forfeiture (Motor Vehicle and/or Property) Hearing:

This is conducted in the same manner as an IC Hearing or B-Card Hearing (explained above), except that we are seeking the return of your motor vehicle or property, and the opposing counsel is often a prosecuting attorney rather than someone from the Attorney General’s office.

Probation Violations

If you are charged with a Probation Violation (which is criminal in nature), the following court appearances may apply.  Generally, your presence at all of these court appearances is required.

Admit / Deny Hearing:

At this hearing, you will either admit or deny that you have violated the terms of your probation.  The hearing is held in somewhat the same manner as the pre-trial / settlement conference / default omnibus hearing (explained above).  If an agreeable resolution is not reached, the matter will be set for hearing, which is conducted in the same manner as the contested probable cause / evidentiary hearing (explained above and below).

Contested Hearing:

Should it be necessary, you have the right to a contested hearing, at which time the State must prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that you committed acts which violated the terms of probation previously set by the Court.  If the State meets its burden, the Court can impose any jail time and penalty that it had previously stayed.  If the State fails to meet its burden, your probationary period continues as though the alleged probation violation had never occurred and, if your contested hearing takes place after the expiration of your term of probation, the Court will dismiss you from probation entirely.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many possible court appearances that can take place during the course of any case.  We hope this Minnesota DWI court process guide has given you some basic understanding of what appearances you may expect as your case progresses.

Your attorney will be able to explain or answer any question that you may have or that this guide does not fully answer.  You should contact an experienced DWI attorney if you have any further concerns relating to the DWI court process.