1. Arrest
First you were arrested. This means that the police took you into custody and think you are guilty of a crime. For minor offenses, you may be given a "Notice To Appear" rather than being arrested. This notice requires you to appear in court for arraignment.

2. First Appearance
Within 24 hours of being arrested and detained, you will be brought before a judge to determine bail. At this hearing the judge rarely is interested in hearing your side of the story and only is trying to determine what amount of bail will ensure you show up to your future court appearances. Indeed, it is in your best interest not to comment on the facts of your case at this stage. In most cases, you will not have an attorney with you at your First Appearance.

3. Arraignment
W ithin 48 hours of your arrest you will be arraigned. Arraignment is where the prosecutor tells the court what you have been arrested for. At the arraignment, the judge only wants to know whether you plead "guilty", "not guilty", or "no contest" . The judge you see at your arraignment may not be the judge who will handle your case later. Telling your side of the story at the arraignment only helps the prosecutor. If you hire an attorney prior to your arraignment, your attorney may file a Written Plea for you and you may not need to be present for your arraignment.

4. Information or Indictment
After you are arraigned and learn what you were officially arrested for, the prosecutor will file the document formally charging you. In most cases, this document is called an "Information" and is filed by the prosecutor after looking at the facts of your case. For some serious crimes, your case may be brought before a Grand Jury where the prosecutor will show all their evidence to the grand jury. This is an entirely one-sided proceeding. Neither you nor your lawyer are allowed to participate. If the Grand Jury believes there is enough evidence against you, it will issue an "Indictment" against you. The indictment is the formal charge or charges against you, similar to the prosecutor's "information".

5. Discovery
After there are formal charges against you, you have a right to see all the evidence that the prosecutor has, including questioning witnesses in some cases. This process may take several months. Towards the end of the discovery period, your lawyer and the prosecutor may begin to negotiate or bargain about the charges against you. This is called "plea bargaining."

6. Plea Bargaining
Plea bargaining may start at any time, but generally your lawyer will wait until he or she sees all the evidence against you. Plea bargaining may continue right up to the date of your trial. In many cases there are sentencing laws that control how long or short a sentence may be for a given type of crime. Your lawyer cannot change these guidelines, but he or she may be able to negotiate a different type of charge or fewer charges which carry a lesser sentence.

7. Trial
If the grand jury hands down an indictment and your lawyer is unable to negotiate a plea with the prosecutor, there will be a trial. In a trial, the prosecutor goes first and presents the government's entire case to the jury. Witnesses for the prosecution are heard and evidence against you is presented. After the prosecutor is finished, your lawyer will tell your side of the story. Your lawyer will get the chance to question each of the prosecutor's witnesses and each item of evidence presented against you. Your lawyer may use any one of a number of different strategies to defend you at the trial. This will all be discussed in further detail at a later date if your case reaches the trial phase.

8. Sentencing
If the jury finds you guilty, it is up to the judge to determine what your sentence will be. The sentencing usually happens a few weeks after the trial ends. If the jury finds you "not guilty" your case is over and you are done with the process.

Foreman & Olvera handles Criminal Defense cases.
We defend people facing criminal charges, including DUI cases, felonies, misdemeanors, criminal traffic violations, violations of probation, and criminal appeals. For your no-cost consultation call us at (386) 752-8420.

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