Arraignment

Each state sets its own forum and procedure for the license side of a DUI. Texas law, for example, provides that the license determination of the department or an administrative law judge is a civil matter, independent of the criminal charge. The outcome of the criminal charge does not affect that suspension, with one stated exception: if a criminal charge from the same arrest results in an acquittal, the suspension may not be imposed, and an existing one must be rescinded.

Michigan's statute provides that when a person refuses a chemical test under the state's chemical-test provisions, the officer must immediately give written notice that the person may request a hearing within a period measured from the date of the notice, and that failing to request one will result in suspension. Pennsylvania's licensing agency, in its driver's manual guidance, describes an appeal of a licensing sanction in the Court of Common Pleas (Civil Division) in the county of residence, with a filing period measured from the mailing date of the notice.

An arraignment is a proceeding in the criminal case on the charge itself. What the court must do there is set by each state's law, not by a national rule.

Arizona's statute on driving or actual physical control while under the extreme influence of intoxicating liquor provides that, at the arraignment, the court shall inform the defendant that the defendant may request a trial by jury and that the request, if made, shall be granted. That provision appears in the extreme-influence statute and is stated for charges under it.

A lawyer licensed in the state where the charge was filed can explain what that court addresses at arraignment and what is decided later.

Not necessarily. Ohio's statute, in a provision about certain felony vehicular charges, lists an initial appearance, a preliminary hearing and an arraignment as separate proceedings. For an arrest for operating a vehicle in violation of the state's OVI statute, or for physical control in violation of the related statute, Ohio's law requires the initial appearance on the charge within a set time measured from the arrest or the issuance of the citation, whether or not the person's license has been suspended in relation to the arrest.

North Carolina's statutes use the term initial appearance. After investigatory procedures, crash reports and chemical analyses are complete, the officer shall take the arrested person before a judicial official. In deciding whether there is probable cause to believe the person is impaired, the magistrate may review screening tests and chemical analyses, hear officer testimony and observe the person.

Deadlines, limits and penalty ranges are set by each state’s statutes, so this page does not state them. Each state page shows them with the official source and the date they were verified — or says plainly that a figure has not been confirmed yet.