The first ten days after a DUI arrest
You’re home, you have a stack of papers, and you probably didn’t sleep. Here is what matters this week, in the order it matters.
Tonight: find the papers
Gather everything you were handed: the citation, any notice about your license, a bond or release form, and receipts for your car if it was towed. Put them in one envelope. The license notice is the one to read first.
This week: the license deadline
In most places the license case moves separately from the criminal case, and the window to ask for a hearing is short, sometimes only days. The notice usually says how long you have. Missing it can mean the suspension simply begins.
While you still remember: write it down
- Where you’d been, and when you left
- What you ate and drank, and over how many hours
- The road, the weather and the light
- What the officer said was the reason for the stop
- Which tests you were asked to do, and where
Write it for your lawyer, not for anyone else. Don’t post about the night, and don’t send these notes through a website form.
What can wait
Pleading, paying anything to the court, or signing up for classes can all wait until you’ve talked to a lawyer. The first court date is usually further off than the license deadline.
You don’t need to see the whole case tonight. You need to see this week.