My best friend got arrested for DUI in Jacksonville, Florida and temporarily released after paying the bail amount. What procedures take place on arraignments?

Patty

Jacksonville, FL

The first phase of courtroom proceedings is the arraignment. The arraignment in DUI cases represents the first and last time that the offender presents himself in court. DUI offenders usually plead guilty most especially if intoxication evidences are strong and there’s a minimal chance of plea bargain exists.

During an arraignment, the offender is summoned before the criminal court judge, who then reads the criminal charges against the person (who is now pertained to as “defendant”). The offender is asked if he has an attorney to defend his side, or if the court needs to provide a lawyer for the defendant. In his process, the offender is also being asked how does he/she pleads to the charges (which can be guilty, not guilty or no contest). A revisit for the bail may also be reviewed during arraignments. During this period as well that announcement for future proceedings in the case are finalized (these are preliminary hearings, pre-trial motions and the trial itself).

Being involved in a DUI case especially here in Jacksonville Florida is not an easy situation. The service of a DUI lawyer would be a great assistance for you. It has always been a great dilemma for driver’s being caught in such sticky situation. I also recommend getting a reliable and affordable auto insurance that would not let you go even in cases like these.

I am so curious as to how they draw blood in a DUI investigation in Jacksonville, Florida. Does the blood have to come from the arteries or veins?

Elsa

Jacksonville, FL

The blood samples from people accused of DUI in Jacksonville, Florida are commonly withdrawn from the vein rather than from the artery. But the blood alcohol content (BAC) of blood taken from the veins could be quite different from the BAC of blood taken from the arteries in a subject at a given time. It is also the blood in the arteries that carry alcohol into the brain, resulting in intoxication; thus, analysis of blood samples taken from the veins can be misleading.

As a matter of fact, researchers have concluded that using a single blood sample taken from the veins to determine an earlier BAC produces a result that is equivalent to a wild guess. In a related article published in 1984, a lot of scientists have measured comparative BAC levels in the breath, venous blood and arterial blood of people who had consumed known quantities of alcohol. The scientists noticed that BAC of blood taken from the artery was higher than that of blood taken from the vein during the absorptive phase that is, while the alcohol was being absorbed by the body. Arguably, the blood samples taken from the veins had higher BAC levels than the blood samples taken from the arteries during the elimination phase of the blood-alcohol curve. Therefore, the blood sample take from the vein during the elimination phase would be analyzed as having a higher BAC than is in fact being carried to the brain.