THE CRIMINAL COURT PROCESS:
You are Arrested:
The first contact that you are
likely to have with the criminal justice system, is when you are arrested by a
policing authority. In order to effect your arrest to be lawful, the police agency must have "Probable
Cause" to believe that a crime has been committed, and that you are the "perpetrator"
or person who committed the offense.
Following your arrest, you will be
transported to jail where you will be formally taken into custody or booked. You will be photographed, fingerprinted and possibly
interrogated further and a written report will be generated by the arresting
officers and sent to the Prosecutors
for evaluation.
The Complaint is Filed:
A Prosecutor called the
"Charging Deputy" will review the evidence and reports against
you. They will make a preliminary evaluation as to whether or not a particular statute or law
has been violated. It is this person who will decide, if charges will be filed
and, if so, what the actual charges will be. If they decide to file charges,
they will type up a charging document called a "complaint" which
will be filed with the Court having jurisdiction over your case.
The Arraignment:
At the Arraignment, you are
brought before the Court for the first time to be formally charged with the
offense and advised of your constitutional rights. Usually this is done
with your attorney in attendance, who will advise you of what to say. If you are
charged with only an infraction of a misdemeanor, then you do have to be
personally present, your attorney can appear on your behalf pursuant to Penal
Code Section §977. On the other hand, if you are charged with a felony, your
personal appearance is required. Usually your attorney will advise
you to waive the Court's reading of the
complaint and statement of rights to you, and enter a plea of "Not
Guilty." Your attorney will arrange a convenient date for
your next appearance for a "Pre-Trial Conference."
The length of time of the
continuance following the Arraignment and before the Pre-Trial Conference
can be as little as a week to as long as several months. This drastic difference
in time is determined by whether or not you are in custody. If you are in custody, the "Speedy Trial Act"
requires that you be brought to trial quickly or your case must be
dismissed.
A Brief Hearing on Bail or O.R. Release:
The last thing that is usually
discussed at the Arraignment is the issue of Bail. The Court also has the option
of releasing you O.R (On Your Own Recognizance) or setting a monetary
bail. The purpose of bail is to ensure your appearance at all future
hearings and at trial.
The Court has a fair degree of
discretion in setting Bail, although in Los Angeles County they have an
established Bail Schedule that judges usually follow. In deciding if he should follow
the bail schedule or deviate from it, the judge will be evaluating you on two
primary factors. (1) Are you a flight risk; and (2) How much danger does
releasing you pose to the community. The judge can set a bail that is very
modest to Millions of dollars of Bail. In some cases, the Judge won't grant you
bail at all.
The Preliminary Hearing:
In Felony matters, the Court will
set the case for a "Preliminary Hearing" for the
express purpose of ascertaining if the
Police Office had Probable Cause for the Arrest. The Judge will also determine
if there is sufficient evidence produced that a Public Offense has occurred and
that you are more likely than not guilty of the offense. The Judge will also
determine if the charges are enough to constitute a felony or a misdemeanor. If
the judge determines it is a felony, then you will be "bound
over" for Trial in the Superior Court. You should also be
aware that charges can be added, modified or deleted at any time during this
process. Of Course, if you are held to answer, bail
amounts can be immediately reset.
Arraignment in the Superior Court:
If you are held to answer in the
Superior Court, the prosecutor will file a charging document called an
"Information" in the Superior Court.
A new arraignment date will be set and you will be formally brought before the
Superior Court and re-arraigned. This is a repeat of the same procedure that was
used initially to charge you.
The Pre-trial Conference:
There are several reasons for a
Pre-Trial Conference. One reason is to allow the Court and the parties
to conduct housekeeping tasks, like pre-trial motions, discovery motions and for
compliance with discovery. It allows the parties and the Judge to meet and have
frank discussions concerning the relative strengths and weaknesses of their
cases, It allows the parties to discuss a possible resolution of the matter
without the necessity of a trial. This is the stage where so-called "Plea
Bargains" are discussed.
The Trial:
If you are charged
with a crime, then you are entitled, by law, to a trial by a jury of your peers.
The jury panel is made up of twelve impartial members of the community to
hear your case. You can waive a jury trial and have a trial by the Court,
although most attorneys to do favor this option.
The Prosecuting and
Defense attorneys both evaluate the prospective jurors and submit questions for
the judge to ask each prospective juror during "Voir Dire."
Voir Dire is a $25.00 word that means we are asking the individual jurors how
they feel about certain issues. The purpose is to weed out people who are
prejudice or otherwise unfit.
After the jury has
been sworn in, both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney have an will
make opening statements to the jury. Then they will introduce witnesses and evidence in favor of their
case. They will cross-examine the witnesses against their case. At the
conclusion of the evidence, both sides will make closing arguments and then the
judge will give the jury instructions on the Law.
The jury will retire
to consider their verdict. This is called the deliberation phase of the case.
During this phase, the jury decides whether the prosecution has met the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the jury finds you not guilty, you are free to go and
cannot be subjected to further prosecution based on the same offenses.
Sentencing:
If the jury found you guilty, the the judge will hold a
sentencing hearing where the judge determines and imposes an appropriate
punishment. You may be sentenced to probation instead of a term in state prison.
You could be sentenced to County Jail, pay a fine or both. Different crimes
carry different possible penalties. You are entitled to a sentencing hearing so
that you may introduce evidence in mitigation of the sentence. In some cases,
the judge will hear victim impact statements to show how the victims family was
harmed by the defendant's actions.
Consequences of a Conviction:
A conviction of a criminal offense
can have a number of consequences in addition to fines or jail time.
If you are convicted of a felony, these consequences can include; loss of the right to vote, loss of the right to possess a firearm,
restriction on your ability to associate with other known criminals, registration as a sexual offender, registration as a narcotics offender,
not to mention sentence enhancements or increased penalties for future convictions.
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