The Criminal Process

Arraignment: The criminal process often begins with an arrest or citation ordering a person to court to face criminal charges. This is an arraignment. At the arraignment, a complaint will be filed listing what criminal offenses you face, and the prosecutor will have available discovery or reports that provide information about the arrest and crime.

Even before a person goes to court, however, there are many important details to discuss with a criminal defense attorney. If you are in jail, there are steps I will take to attempt to get you released immediately.

I will look at the preliminary reports and charging documents in order to assess some of the strengths and weaknesses of your case in order to map out a course of action to fight against the allegations. Depending on the details of your case, I may challenge the way in which the police arrested or questioned you and use that as a basis for seeking a dismissal or reduction of charges.

Prosecutors do not like to face hurdles or legitimate challenges posed by defense attorneys, so the more difficult a skilled defense attorney makes your case, the more likely that the prosecutor reduces, dismisses, or pleas the charges.

Pre-Trial And Preliminary Hearings: After the arraignment, a felony case will proceed to preliminary hearing and a misdemeanor case will proceed to pre-trial hearing. During these phases, I will continue to gather evidence, investigate, and challenge the prosecution’s case.

During a preliminary hearing, the prosecution must present evidence to establish whether there is probable cause to hold a person to answer for trial. I will also have the chance to cross-examine the witnesses and present evidence in defense of the charges. The preliminary hearing is a valuable opportunity to set up some areas of cross-examination for trial and demonstrate to the prosecution why a case or charge is weak. Pre-trial and preliminary hearings can show that there is an identity issue, alibi issue, character issues with witnesses, and/or other evidentiary problems.

The initial stages of a criminal arrest or investigation are times when individuals are quite vulnerable and nervous. The police know this and will use this opportunity to gather potentially damaging evidence that will later come back to haunt you.

It is critical to consult with a skilled defense attorney any time you, a friend, or a loved one faces criminal charges. Setting a strategically advantageous course of defense from the outset can make or break a case. I urge you to contact my law office to schedule a free case review as soon as possible.