Is your DUI case taking forever? Here's what's going on. So, I've got a client that called me this morning that I haven't talked to in a few months. She got a DUI in like October, but because of the holidays and because of the way the scheduling worked out for the judges, she didn't have an arraignment date scheduled until February. Her case has been pending for several weeks and there's nothing going on right now. Well, DUIs are a process. They take a lot longer than you might think. And while you might think your lawyer is not doing anything, your lawyer is waiting for the process to basically play out. Let's talk about some of those steps. You get arrested, you go to jail, you're in jail for a few hours, maybe a night court judge sets your bond, and he makes you pre-trial eligible. Well, you're going to get bonded out on pre-trial, and then you're going to get what's called a settlement date in Nashville. The settlement date is also referred to as maybe an arraignment date. It's called different things in different jurisdictions, but the concept is the same. You're going to have a court date where there's nobody subpoenaed to be there, where you're required to go if you don't have a lawyer, and you listen to the judge tell you what you're charged with and why you need a lawyer, why you should not be in there without a lawyer, and how to get a lawyer if you can't afford a lawyer. Then they'll schedule your court date off, probably 6 or 8 weeks in Nashville, [music] and then you'll get what's called a trial date. Doesn't mean that you're going to have a trial. Means that everybody that's necessary for the case to proceed is scheduled to be there. So, in other words, the cop is subpoenaed, the witnesses are subpoenaed, maybe you had an accident with another driver, that person is subpoenaed to be there, and you're able to work your case out in general sessions typically. Now, general sessions is the first stage of court. The rules of discovery don't apply in general sessions. What I do is I go in and I talk to the district attorney. I find out who's there, find out what the officer is going to say. I find out what evidence the officer has obtained in the arrest. For example, maybe a blood result. Maybe you agreed to give blood because you don't watch this channel. It's important basically to communicate with your lawyer and for your lawyer to communicate with you so that you understand the process, so that you're not surprised by something. Your case is not over with quick doesn't mean that there's nothing happening. Sometimes it just takes a little while to get everything in line that we need to defend you properly and you really don't want to rush that. Sometimes you need to let the process play out and sometimes time is your friend. Things happen to the state's case over time and sometimes things happen that benefit the [music] defense. You got to be patient. You got to realize these things take time. Nothing happens fast in the criminal justice system. You've heard that old adage, the wheels of justice turn slowly. That's really true. The wheels of justice really do turn slowly.