The arraignment is your first appearance in criminal court after a DUI arrest. For most people, it is also the first time they have ever stood before a judge for anything, and that alone makes it stressful. Understanding exactly what happens, how long it takes, and what decisions you will face that day goes a long way toward walking in with confidence rather than dread.
What the Arraignment Is and Is Not
The arraignment is not a trial. No evidence is presented. You do not tell your side of the story. The judge does not decide whether you are guilty. The arraignment is simply the formal beginning of your criminal case, the point at which the charges against you are officially read into the record and you are asked how you respond to them.
In a typical misdemeanor DUI case, the hearing itself lasts only a few minutes. The courtroom will have other defendants with their own cases being called before and after yours. It is busy, it can feel impersonal, and it moves quickly.
When the Arraignment Happens
If you were held in custody after your arrest, the arraignment must take place within two court days. If you were released, your arraignment date will be printed on your citation or your release paperwork. In most released misdemeanor DUI cases, this date is set several weeks after the arrest, giving you time to retain an attorney before you need to appear.
Do not lose that paperwork. The date and courthouse location are both on it.
Does Your Attorney Need to Be With You?
For a misdemeanor DUI with no injury and no felony charges, California Penal Code § 977 allows your attorney to appear at the arraignment without you being physically present. This is one of the practical advantages of retaining a private attorney early. Your attorney can appear on your behalf, enter a not guilty plea, receive the next court date, and begin requesting evidence, all without you having to take time off work or sit in a courtroom for hours waiting for a two-minute proceeding.
If you are charged with a felony DUI, you are required to be physically present in court.
What Happens When Your Case Is Called
When your case is called, you or your attorney will approach the podium or counsel table. The judge will confirm your identity and then read the charges against you. In most DUI cases, this means charges under one or more sections of the Vehicle Code, typically Vehicle Code § 23152(a) for driving under the influence and § 23152(b) for driving with a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher. Both charges are usually filed together even though they arise from the same incident.
The judge will advise you of your constitutional rights, including the right to an attorney, the right to a jury trial, the right to confront witnesses against you, and the right against self-incrimination. If you do not have an attorney and cannot afford one, this is the moment to tell the judge. The court will ask about your income and determine whether you qualify for a public defender.
Discovery: The First Look at the Evidence
At the arraignment, the prosecutor is generally required to provide initial discovery materials to you or your attorney. This typically includes the police report and the chemical test results. In some counties this happens automatically. In others your attorney may need to request it.
This is the first opportunity to see what the prosecution actually has. The police report contains the officer’s account of the stop, the investigation, and the arrest. The chemical test results show the recorded BAC. Your attorney will review these documents closely for problems with the stop, the investigation, or the test itself. Most attorneys do not have time to review these fully before the arraignment, which is one reason the not guilty plea is almost always the right move that day.
The Plea: What Your Options Are
You will be asked to enter one of three pleas:
Not guilty. This is the right choice in the overwhelming majority of DUI arraignments, especially if you have not yet had a chance to review the evidence with your attorney. A not guilty plea does not mean you are claiming nothing happened. It means you are preserving your right to evaluate the evidence, negotiate with the prosecutor, and decide on the best path forward before anything is finalized. Entering a not guilty plea keeps all of your options open.
Guilty. Pleading guilty at arraignment means accepting the charges and moving immediately to sentencing. For a first offense DUI, doing this without reviewing the evidence, without knowing whether the stop was legal, and without exploring whether a reduced charge is available is almost never in your interest.
No contest. A no contest plea, also called nolo contendere, results in a conviction and sentencing the same way a guilty plea does. The only practical difference is that a no contest plea generally cannot be used against you as an admission in a subsequent civil lawsuit. Outside of that narrow distinction, it carries the same consequences as pleading guilty.
The Prosecutor’s Initial Offer
At the arraignment, the prosecutor will typically make an initial plea offer. This is their opening position, not their final one, and it rarely reflects the best outcome available after a full review of the evidence. Your attorney will hear the offer, explain it to you, and advise you on whether to take it, reject it, or continue negotiating at the next hearing. Do not accept a plea offer at arraignment without your attorney’s guidance. There will be more court dates, and the negotiating process continues well beyond the first appearance.
What Happens After You Plead Not Guilty
Once you enter a not guilty plea, the judge will set a date for the next hearing. In most California counties, this is a pretrial conference scheduled roughly 30 to 45 days after the arraignment. At that conference, your attorney and the prosecutor will discuss the case, exchange additional evidence, and continue plea negotiations. Many DUI cases resolve at the pretrial stage without ever going to trial.
Between the arraignment and the pretrial conference, your attorney will be reviewing the evidence, investigating the facts of your stop and arrest, and developing your defense strategy. This is when the work of your case actually happens. The arraignment itself is just the starting gun.
Bail and Release Conditions
In most misdemeanor DUI cases where the defendant was released after arrest, bail is not an issue at the arraignment. You are already out, and the judge will simply confirm your release conditions.
If there are aggravating factors, a very high BAC, a prior record, an accident involving injury, or if you were held in custody, the judge may address bail at the arraignment and impose conditions for release. These can include checking in with a pretrial services officer, abstaining from alcohol, surrendering your passport if there is a flight risk concern, or in some cases wearing a SCRAM alcohol monitoring bracelet while the case is pending.
If the judge orders a condition you are not sure about, make sure you understand it completely before you leave the courthouse. Violating a release condition is a separate problem on top of your DUI case.
What to Wear and How to Act
Show up on time. Dress as you would for a professional job interview. Courts notice how defendants present themselves, and first impressions matter even in brief hearings. Turn your phone off before entering the courtroom. Address the judge as Your Honor if you are asked to speak. Let your attorney do the talking. This is not the day to explain yourself to the judge.
If you are appearing without an attorney because you have not yet retained one, be straightforward with the judge. Ask for a continuance to obtain counsel. Judges routinely grant this, and it is far better than proceeding without representation.
What If You Miss Your Arraignment Date?
Do not. Missing an arraignment results in the judge issuing a bench warrant for your arrest. That warrant stays active until you appear in court or are picked up by law enforcement, whichever comes first. It also gives prosecutors less incentive to offer favorable terms and makes your overall situation harder to resolve. If a genuine emergency arises before your court date, contact your attorney immediately so a motion can be filed before the hearing, not after.
Conclusion
Your arraignment is a brief, procedural step in what is likely to be a months-long process. Enter a not guilty plea, listen to the initial offer, and leave the decisions to your attorney. The real work of your defense happens in the weeks after the arraignment, not in the two or three minutes you spend at the podium. Use the time between now and your court date to get the right representation in place and to start working on your mitigation.
Citations
- California Vehicle Code § 23152(a) and (b) (DUI offenses).
- California Penal Code § 977 (defendant’s right to be absent from misdemeanor proceedings).
- California Penal Code § 988 (arraignment procedures).
- California Penal Code § 1043 (defendant’s presence required for felony proceedings).
- California Rules of Court, Rule 4.111 (misdemeanor arraignment requirements).