• Arraignment- This is usually the next date the court
is open after your arrest. You will be formally told what the
charges and the court will enter a plea of not guilty for you
and give you a date to come back for a pre-trial conference or
pre-trial hearing
• Pre-trial Conference or Pre-trial hearing- This is when
a pre-trial conference report is filled out by your lawyer and
the prosecutor. This report sets out what information and evidence
is going to be exchanged and what is going to happen next on the
case.
• Motion Hearing- There are two different kinds of motions
(a request for the court to do something), motions to get the
prosecutor to turn over things they don't want to and motions
to stop the prosecutor from using evidence (motions to suppress)
• Trial- In Massachusetts the accused has the choice of
having a jury or a judge decide the case. This decision is based
upon the facts of the case and who the judge is and is usually
made on the trial date.
• Disposition- This term refers to what happens if you
plead guilty or are found guilty. It can include jail or probation
and may include the condition that you remain drug or alcohol
free.
DUI
This generally is interpreted as an abbreviation for driving
under the influence. By far, the most common impairing
substance is ALCOHOL. However, many states also prohibit
DUI DRUGS and DUI TOXIC VAPORS (sniffing or huffing paint
fumes, butane, paint thinner and similar chemicals).
DWI
The next most common acronym is DWI. Depending on
the state practice, this can be interpreted as an abbreviation
for driving while intoxicated or driving while impaired.
Like DUI, many states proscribe impaired (or “intoxicated”)
driving as caused by other impairing substances, drugs,
plants or chemical compounds.
OUI
The next most common acronym for drunk driving is OUI.
This stands for operating under the influence. The
word “operating” is actually more encompassing (and more
accurate) than “driving” because almost all states make
it illegal to “operate or be in actual physical control”
of a motor vehicle. This means that you can be sitting
in your car, off the side of the road, with the engine running
and the car in park, and asleep, yet still be charged with
OUI (or DUI or DWI, for that matter, in most states).
The states that have OUI as their acronym are Maine, Massachusetts,
and Rhode Island.
OWI
Another acronym for drunk driving is OWI, or operating while
intoxicated. Similar to OUI, the operative word is
“operating”. Wisconsin is the largest state using
this acronym.
OMVI
OMVI (operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated) is an
acronym used in Ohio from time to time, but they also use
DUI.
DUIL
DUIL (driving under the influence of liquor) is used in
a few states in case law.
DUII
Oregon uses DUII (driving under the influence of an
intoxicant).
DWAI
In two states, Colorado and New York, the acronym “DWAI”
(driving while ability impaired) is a LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE
to DWI (or DUI). These “lesser offenses” offer the
person less damage to their driver’s license, and have certain
benefits over pleading to the standard DUI / DWI offense.
DWUI
One state, Wyoming, uses DWUI (driving while under the influence).
DUBAL
Finally, two other acronyms crop up in cases occasionally.
DUBAL or UBAL is a type of DUI / DWI that signifies driving
with an unlawful blood alcohol level. This applies
only to cases in which the person arrested has given a blood,
breath or urine sample. Officers or court cases (or
your attorney) may call this “per se” DUI or “per se” DWI.
In short, this means, it is an offense to merely have driven
while having the prohibited amount of alcohol in your system
regardless of whether the police officer gathers any traditional
evidence of “impairment”.
UBAL
Same
as DUBAL.
"Open
Container"
The
offense of having an open container inside your passenger
compartment.
