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The Progress of
a Felony Case Through The Court System...
This
section is meant as a general overview of the different court
appearances as a felony case progresses through court. It
is not meant to cover the law which applies at each stage, or all of
the practical or tactical considerations, which will vary from case to
case. Felonies are those crimes punishable by a state prison
sentence. All felonies begin in county, or limited jurisdiction
court.
Advisement
is your first appearance in
court. There,
you are advised of the specific charges against you, and your
Constitutional and statutory rights. At that time either a
preliminary hearing (for class 1, 2 or 3 felonies) or a dispositional
hearing is set to speak with the District Attorney about a potential
plea bargain. Bail may be set, raised or lowered. Further court
dates are also set, and your attorney will make arrangements to get
the discovery, or police reports before your next appearance.
The next appearance is either a pretrial, or settlement conference,
(dispositional hearing) or a preliminary hearing.
This is an attempt to see if it
is possible to settle your case by way of plea bargain early in the
proceedings.
If no agreement is reached and you have a right to a
Preliminary
Hearing, the hearing takes
place. The preliminary hearing is a short contested hearing,
where the prosecutor presents evidence to a Judge alone (no jury). You
have a right to have this hearing within 30 court days of your initial
advisement.
The Judge is not deciding whether the defendant is
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but only whether there is probable
cause to believe that a felony was committed, and that the charged
defendant is among those responsible. If the Judge finds
probable cause, the case is "bound over" to District Court
for arraignment.
Arraignment in District Court is virtually
identical to the initial appearance. It is at the arraignment
that you enter your plea of "Not Guilty" if an agreement
cannot be reached with the DA.
Motions are frequently run
between the post-preliminary hearing arraignment and trial.
These commonly include motions to suppress illegally seized evidence,
motions to dismiss for lack of probable cause or for lack of speedy
trial or one of many other motions your attorney may believe will help
your case.
Trial can be to a jury, or to a Judge alone, commonly
referred to as a "bench trial". Here, both sides are allowed
to present evidence, and a defendant may not be convicted until his
guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In felony matters, a
defendant has a right to have his trial begin within 60 days of his
post-preliminary hearing arraignment.
Misdemeanors are
those crimes punishable with sentences to county jail. They are
heard entirely in municipal or limited jurisdiction court (county
court), and include
only one arraignment, one pretrial, motions and trial.
Bail
is
usually set at the time the defendant is arrested. The arraignment
Judge will usually hear arguments and then raise or lower the bail
accordingly. The issue of bail amount may be addressed at
subsequent hearings, however, the amount may only be moved for
"changed circumstances". Bail may be posted in cash,
by pledging real property, or through a bail bondsman.
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