Know Your Legal Rights in Court
1. You have the right to be furnished a copy of the complaint, and you have a right to have the charges explained to you.
2. You have a right to an attorney at all stages of the proceedings.
3. You have a right to a continuance to obtain an attorney, if you want one.
4. If you are unable to hire an attorney due to lack of sufficient funds or property, the Court will appoint one for you at no cost to you.
At the conclusion of your case and after a hearing, if the Court determines you have the ability to pay, you can be ordered to pay all or part of the cost of the attorney.
This order has the same effect as a civil judgment and is subject to execution.
5. You have a right to reasonable bail set by the Court.
6. You have a right to use the power of the Court to subpoena witnesses and present evidence in your own behalf.
7. You have a right to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against you.
8. You have a right against self-incrimination, which means you cannot be required to testify against yourself.
You may waive this right and testify in your own behalf if you wish.
9. You may plead guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere (no contest).
Nolo contendere is the same in legal effect as a plea of guilty but cannot be used against you as an admission in any civil suit when the plea of nolo contendere is used for a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or infraction.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you also have the following rights:
1. You have a right to a trial by jury, or you may waive this right and request a Court Trial.
2. You have a right to a speedy trial, which means within thirty days following arraignment, if you are in custody; or, within forty-five days following arraignment, if you are not in custody.
If you are not brought to trial within the time stated your case must be dismissed, unless good cause is otherwise shown.
3. You have a right to wait at least six hours before sentence is imposed after a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or conviction following trial; sentence must be imposed within five days, or within twenty-one days if the matter is referred to the Adult Probation Department unless you waive that right.
If you are charged with an infraction, you have the same rights as you would if charged with a misdemeanor except that you have a right to a Court trial and no right to a trial by jury.
If you plead guilty or nolo contendere to a misdemeanor or infraction crime you wave your right to trial by jury and trial by court, your right to see and cross-examine witnesses against you, your right against self-incrimination and also your right to an attorney unless you have an attorney then.
If you are charged with a felony, you have a right to a preliminary hearing within ten court days following your arraignment or plea, whichever occurs later.
If
you are not a
citizen, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or a conviction following trial may
result in your deportation, exclusion or admission to the
DUI information for the following California counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba
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