SARASOTA DUI LAWYER

VENICE

Sarasota has two courthouses, Sarasota and Venice.  If your DUI arrest occurred south of Blackburn Point Road (or south of MM 200 on I-75) then your case will be set for court dates at the Sarasota South County courthouse.  This courthouse is located at 4000 Tamiami Trail South in Venice, FL 34293 and almost all proceedings are conducted in Courtroom H which is immediately to the left of the metal detectors.  If your DUI case has a companion felony charge then your case will be transferred to Sarasota because the south county annex does not have any felony state attorneys.  There is one county court Judge assigned to the South County complex.  Currently Judge Kimberly Bonner is the county Judge assigned to that Courthouse.  Judge Bonner listens to all county civil and misdemeanor charges in the southern part of the county.  Typically, a criminal case will initially be set for a criminal arraignment date.  An arraignment date is an opportunity to answer to the charge against you.  In most situations, if you hire our office, you will not be required to attend your arraignment date.  Because in most instances we are not prepared to resolve your case at the arraignment date your case will be continued to a pre-trial conference date.  The pre-trial conference date is usually 30-45 days after the arraignment date.  In the meantime, the evidence is gathered from the state attorney and the video is obtained from the sheriff or police department.  If an agreement is not worked out with the state attorney then the case will be tried to a jury.  The jury consists of 6 people from the community and their decision must be unanimous.

SARASOTA

If your arrest occurred in the northern portion of Sarasota county then all of your court appearances will occur in the Sarasota County Courthouse at 2002 Ringling Boulevard. The Courthouse is directly next to the Sarasota Police Department and across the street from the sallyport of the Sarasota County Jail.  Currently, there are two County Court Judges assigned to the criminal division.  Judge David Denkin is assigned to the first half of the alphabet.  That means that if the first letter of your last name is A-L then your case will be assigned to Judge Denkin.  The second half of the alphabet is under the control of Judge Judith Goldman. It is possible that your arraignment Judge may not be the Judge ultimately assigned to your case.  Almost all criminal court proceedings are conducted on the second floor of the courthouse.  Typically, arraignments are in Courtroom 2A and most trials occur in Courtroom 2B.  

Contact Finebloom and Haenel if you have a pending criminal case in Sarasota County.  We practice in both courthouses on a daily basis and we are very familiar with local court rules, the Judges, and most importantly the state attorney's office.