If you have been accused of Drunk Driving, when you enter a plea to the charges of DUI you will also need to sign an acknowledgement of rights. If you have retained an attorney, you DUI lawyer may be able to file a document with the Court stating that he has explained your rights to [...]
Arraignment is the proceeding where the defendant may plead guilty or not guilty to the charge. Before accepting the plea, the judge must advise the defendant of all the rights listed in 46-12-210 and 46-7-102 MCA. The arraignment may be conducted with the defendant physically present before the Court or by two-way electronic audio-video communication [...]
After DUI charges are filed there are three basic stages to the case: 1) Initial Appearance; 2) Arraignment; and 3) Trial. Although most people think of trials when they think of Court, the truth is that many Montana DUIs are resolved without a trial. State law requires that after a person is arrested, he must [...]
A new specialty court designed to intervene with repeat drunken driving offenders will open in Butte on October 1st. Currently the Court has funding to stay open for the next three years based on a Department of Justice grant. The DUI court is designed for people convicted of two or three misdemeanor DUIs and who are [...]
A fundamental tenant of our criminal justice system is that persons accused of a crime are entitled to representation in court by an attorney. For certain crimes, if the accused cannot afford an attorney, Montana will provide one; a public defender. So when does someone accused of DUI qualify for a public defender? When the [...]
