What Should I Expect at the Courthouse for my MIAMI DUI Case?

By Jonathan Blecher on April 27, 2017

You’ve already gotten past the trauma of your arrest, making bail, getting your car from the tow yard and dealing with your driver license issues. Now it’s time for you to appear in court for the first time. What should you expect?

If you’ve hired an experienced Miami DUI lawyer you won’t have to attend your arraignment hearing. If you have not hired an attorney, you will have to go. The arraignment is the hearing where the state announces the charges against you and the judge will ask you how you plead. You have several options: not guilty, guilty or no contest. A plea of guilty or no Contest will result in the judge sentencing you right then and there. I don’t recommend that you take this approach.

Instead, you should make an appointment with an attorney to discuss your options, if you haven’t done so already. You may have legitimate legal defenses to the case which you won’t be able to effectively explore on your own.

Where can I park at the Gerstein Justice Building?

The best advice I can offer is to get to the courthouse early. Hundreds of people, just like you, have court hearings every day and the parking lots fill up fast. In addition to Defendants, there are jurors and witnesses and lawyers and police who take up the limited parking resources available at the Gerstein Justice Building in Miami, which is located at 1351 NW 12th Street, Miami, FL 33125. Follow this link for directions to the courthouse.

There are public, metered parking spots along NW N. River Drive, NW 13th Avenue and NW 14th Avenue and NW 12th Street. There’s a public paid parking lot directly across from the courthouse, but it fills up fast. Do not park in the juror parking lots or the lot to the west of the courthouse. Lot 26 requires a monthly permit and they will tow your car if you don’t display one.

Which Courtroom to I go to for my Miami DUI case?

DUI courtrooms are located on the Second Floor, Fourth Floor, Fifth Floor and Sixth Floor of the Gerstein Justice Building. As of May 1, 2017 the County Court judges trying DUI cases in Miami are: Judges Fred Seraphin, Dawn Denaro, Maria Ortiz, Edward Newman, Andrew Hague, Betty Capote, Andrea Ricker Wolfson and Michelle Alvarez Barakat. Look on your court notice for the exact location and time for your DUI court hearings.

Are there Child Care services at the Gerstein Justice Building?

Court Care provides a safe and supervised drop-in childcare facility for children who must be in court in connection with matters involving the children or their parents or guardian. Court Care is staffed with trained and certified personnel who provide for a secure, supportive, and nurturing environment where the children can learn and play while parties attend to court business in the Domestic Violence, Criminal, Juvenile, Unified Family Court, Child Support and Family Divisions, located in the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, Overtown Transit Village South, and Miami Dade Children’s Courthouse. Court Care has been made possible through collaboration with the YWCA, the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Dade County Bar Association, the Cuban-American Bar Association, and the Administrative Office of the Courts of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

Arrested for a DUI? As an experienced Miami DUI lawyer, I have the skill and insight required to safeguard your future from the criminal allegations you face. Throughout the more than 30 years of my legal career, I’ve garnered accolades from Martindale-Hubbell, The National Trial Lawyers, and Avvo.

Call 305-321-3237 to request your free case evaluation. We’re ready to begin discussing your legal options.