Marysville DUI cases that are initiated by the City of Marysville police department are filed into Marysville Municipal Court. This section deals with the specific DUI defense issues presented in this court. DUI arrests in Marysville by the Washington State Patrol or Sheriff’s department are handled in Snohomish County District Court.
Filiing of Marysville DUI Charges
Criminal and DUI charges in this court are filed by the Marysville City Prosecutor. As of 2015, those duties are being carried out by a private law firm that contracts itself out as prosecuting attorneys for several of the smaller jurisdictions in Snohomish County. Usually, the arresting officer will notify the court of the incident and a first appearance and/or arraignment will be scheduled within 24-72 hours of the arrest. Occasionally, such as in cases where there is a blood draw, charges can be delayed to up to one or two months. There are two sitting judges in Marysville, both elected by the people of the city.
Marysville DUI Procedures
As in most DUI and criminal defense cases, the first hearing in this jurisdiction will be an arraignment. In addition to accepting the initial plea, the court will impose conditions for the defendant to follow while the case is pending. One thing that sets this court apart from some others is its liberal use of SCRAM as a pretrial condition. Many, if not most courts require SCRAM as a condition of release on a third DUI charge, if not on a second. Marysville, under certain circumstances has been known to require it on a first offense. If you are facing a DUI in Marysville and either have one or more priors or it’s a first offense with a high BAC allegation, understand what SCRAM is and ways to potentially avoid it as a condition
At arraignment, the court will provide you with three future dates, a pretrial hearing, a readiness hearing and a jury trial date. The pretrial date is “hard set”, meaning that it will occur and you will need to appear. The other two may or may not occur depending upon what happens at the pretrial date. If the case is resolved at the pretrial, those other future dates would be stricken. If the pretrial hearing is continued, then the other dates would likely be re-set as well. Otherwise, the DUI court procedure is similar to other jurisdictions.
As with any DUI charge, make sure you consult with an attorney familiar with the policies and procedures of the court you are in. At Milios Defense, we have been handling cases in Marysville for over 20 years and would be glad consult with you and answer any questions that you may have.
