Seven Steps of the Trial Process explained by an El Paso DWI Attorney

The basic framework of an El Paso DWI case is the pre-trial motions and trial. The majority of DWI cases will never get to a trial because the person going to trial for DWI will agree to a plea bargain where they admit guilt in exchange for being charged with a lesser offense. The DWI case will go to trial if a plea bargain cannot be reached between the defense and the prosecutor. Most people understand the trial phase of a case based on their experiences on watching them on TV. A jury of your peers will listen to all of the evidence against you and decide to convict you or not based on the evidence and whether or not they believe you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If your DWI case goes all the way to the trial there will be a sequence of seven steps: pre-trial motions, selecting jury members, opening statements, witness testimony, a cross examination, closing arguments, jury instruction and lastly jury deliberation and verdict. Pre-Trial Motions These motions typically are made by your El Paso DWI attorney demanding that the judge suppress evidence or prevent the prosecution from doing something during the trial. Pre-trial motions can also include trying to prevent the prosecution from using expert witnesses or quite possibly to try to dismiss your case completely. Some of the possible motions or arguments that your El Paso DWI attorney could argue are that the police officers may have questioned you without informing you of your Miranda rights, the breathalyzer test was not administered correctly or that the arresting officer may have searched you illegally. If the police conducted them unlawfully or inappropriately it is during the pre-trial motions that your DWI attorney will

use those mistakes against the police to exclude evidence and or witnesses. Jury Selection Jury pools are typically assembled from varying lists of local residents. These lists are pulled from DMV records, utility billing or voting registrations. The court is aiming to assemble a fair and equitable cross section of local people when they create the jury pool. Based on this, if 25% percent of the population is African- American then the goal is for 25% of the jury pool to be African-American as well. Do not be confused with this percentage as the Constitution only requires that the jury pool be a fair representation of the local population not the actual jury that is selected. Once the jury pool is grouped together all of the potential jurors go before the judge, your El Paso DWI attorney and the prosecutor to answer questions to determine if they are fit enough for the trial. The reason this is done is to ensure that the jurors are not biased towards the defense of the prosecution. If one of the people in the jury pool has lost a spouse in a DWI accident your El Paso DWI attorney would move to dismiss them form the jury pool believing they would most likely biased against you. Opening Statements The DWI trial can start immediately after the jury has selected. The attorneys are allowed to speak to the jurors about your case for the first time during opening statements. Witness Testimony and Cross Examinations This is the part of the trial where both your El Paso DWI attorney and the prosecution are allowed to call the witnesses to discuss the incident in front of the jury and the judge. Once a witness is brought into court by either the defense or the prosecution the opposing sides can cross examine them if they desire to do so. Cross examination defined is that the attorney for the prosecution is questioning a defense witness or your DWI attorney is asking questions of a witness brought by the prosecution.

Closing Arguments This typically happen nearly end of the case when your El Paso DWI attorney and the prosecuting attorney are allowed to summarize their case and evidence brought forth attempting to convince the jury that their side of the case should be victorious. Jury Instructions The Judge will give instructions to the jury explaining applicable laws that they will need to understand in order to review the facts of the case and make an informed decision. The judge typically will read the DWI statutes to the jury in plain English to eliminate any confusion from the legal jargon. Jury Deliberation and Verdict This is the last portion of the DWI trial where the jury will be excused to chambers where they can discuss your case without being interrupted by the judge, the DWI attorney or the prosecuting attorney. Once the jury has made a final decision, everyone will return to the court room where the jury foreman will read the verdict out loud in court. For more information, please visit http://www.dwielpaso.com or call (915) 317-1933 to schedule a free consultation.