What is the State's Burden of Proof for DUI in Columbia?

Felony DUI
*If you have been arrested for a DUI with injury, then you may be charged with a felony offense.
A crime under Columbia law, which carries a minimum sentence of at least one year in the state prison, is defined as a felony. Some crimes are defined in the Penal Code as "wobblers." This means the prosecutor could charge them as misdemeanors or felonies. In a DUI with injury, 23153 (a) and or (b), the prosecutor can still charge the offense as a misdemeanor if little or no serious injury was involved.

All felony offenses are first brought before the court for arraignment, pre-preliminary examination motions and preliminary hearing. All felony charges have two levels of proceedings in Columbia. They start in Superior Court where the judge sits as a magistrate to determine whether or not probable cause exists for you to be tried. If the judge finds that there does exist probable cause, then you are "held to answer" and arraigned again for trial.

Federal Charges
If you have been charged with a federal DUI, and it is a misdemeanor, then you will be notified by the United States Attorney's Office that a complaint will be filed against you. It may also happen that you may be taken right away following your arrest before a United States Magistrate. A Magistrate functions in a misdemeanor case like a judge. You have the right to have your case tried before a United States District Court Judge, but this is rarely done in most misdemeanor cases. Usually your case will remain in the Magistrate's Court for all proceeding.

The procedure for a federal misdemeanor is rather straightforward. You will be arraigned, at which time you will be informed of the rights you have before the court as well as the charges which you are accused of committing. The court will ask for a plea, if counsel represents you, or the court will continue the case for a short period of time in order for you to obtain counsel for your defense.

Once a not guilty plea is entered, the case is continued for a pretrial conference or for a future setting date. At this time the court will be informed by the parties whether or not there is a settlement or disposition in the case. If this happens, then the case is resolved otherwise it is set for further litigation. Usually, pretrial motions will be set along the lines of what has been discussed in the preceding misdemeanor section regarding pretrial motions. It is not unusual for some pretrial motions to be brought and heard before substantial settlement talks can take place. If the case still is not resolved then it will be set for trial.

In a federal misdemeanor, you have the right to a jury trial if your punishment could exceed six months in jail. Otherwise, you only have the right to a court trial, that is, a trial presided over by the federal magistrate who will decide if you are guilty or not guilty from the evidence. In the four federal district courts located in Columbia, you will probably not be entitled to a jury trial, only a trial before the U.S. Magistrate.

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