If you are arrested for misdemeanor drunk driving in Los Angeles, chances are good that you’ll be charged with the offense by prosecutors in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Courthouse. Known as the DUI courthouse, “Metro” handles most of the DUI cases that are filed in L.A. But in addition to DUI, the court also handles a large variety of additional vehicular offenses, including hit and run and vehicular manslaughter. But because the primary focus is on DUIs at the Metropolitan Courthouse, it helps to have a defense attorney who is familiar with the routine practices at this court.
DUI arraignment and pre-trial “offers” are pretty standard at Metro. Prosecutors generally have a formula that they go by when determining what type of deal to offer defendants. An attorney who doesn’t regularly defend DUI cases at the Metropolitan Courthouse may not realize this. He/she may think that the offer has been well thought out and is therefore an appropriate one.
However, an attorney who is familiar with the practices of this court…and who has established relationships with the prosecutors and judges…knows the most effective arguments to convince prosecutors and judges to dismiss and reduce charges.
This type of DUI attorney also understands the jury pool that is subpoenaed at Metro. This is critical when it comes to taking a case to trial, as getting through to the jurors is the difference between securing an acquittal and receiving a guilty verdict.
