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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
POST ARREST
So now that you have been arrested what do you do and what can you expect?
What to do:
As to what do you do, see Pre-Arrest, Don't talk about your case to anyone, except a lawyer. The jail is filled with snitches that will fill in the blanks, if you tell them even just a little bit about your case, and pretend to The Man, that you told them all about the crime that you are accused of.
If you are sitting in jail, chances are that you are very frightened and that your mind is going a hundred miles an hour.
Well, take a deep breath and remind yourself that situations never ever turn out as bad as they seem that they might in your imagination. Also, once you make your phone call, you can be sure that your people are working as hard as they can to get you a great lawyer---me, and to get you out of jail as soon as possible.
Meantime, it isn't likely that they are going to put you in a cell with a "dangerous criminal" unless you are accused of being a dangerous criminal yourself. In either case, you are going to be OK. Even dangerous criminals don't pick on other dangerous criminals. There are too many easy picks. Stand up for yourself right away and you will be Ok.
What to expect:
Some Counties will send someone from Pre-Trial Services to interview you, to get background information on you like where you were born, your connections to the community and your employment history. They will not ask you questions about your case. It is Ok to give them background information only, to help the Judge to set the right bail amount.
You will be bought to Court within 48 Court hours (excluding weekends and Holidays) for the Arraignment. The purpose is to notify you of what you are formally accused of and to make sure you have a lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you. You also will be informed that if you enter a plea, you have a right to a Preliminary Hearing in 10 days and to go to Trial in 60 days. Usually, no plea is entered at this time, because you haven't been interviewed by your attorney yet and your attorney needs to see the Police Report first, to do an intelligent interview with you.
Before the Preliminary Hearing, there will usually be more than one Court appearance for Pre-Trial negotiations regarding your case between the Judge, the Prosecutor, and your lawyer.
By this point, you will have hired me hopefully, and I can answer all of your questions and brief you on everything you need to know, in person. If you haven't hired me, well I am sorry for both of us I guess.
As to Pre-trial negotiations, unless it's a homicide or 3 strike case, usually the District Attorney will make an offer to get you to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser charge or lesser sentence. Judges used to routinely actively participate in the negotiations. Unfortunately, Judges who will actively participate in the negotiations and sometimes intercede on your behalf are going the way of the dinosaurs.
Real Judges are dwindling in part, because of the immense political power that most District Attorneys now wield. The political power of the District Attorney has grown in part, because the Public Defender in many counties has abdicated their responsibility to "go to war" with a particular Judge who they believe has shown unfairness to the clients by giving too much weight to the Prosecutor or otherwise behaving unfairly or disrespectfully to the accused.
On the other hand, Prosecutors will still go to war with a Judge, by refusing to let the Judge hear any criminal cases until the Judge comes around. The Prosecutor can also go to war in this day and age by supporting opposition candidates for the Judge's job, at election time that will be "tough on crime".
Tough on crime, what does that tell you about your need to get a good lawyer? Me.
Just as I tell it like it is, I won't pull any punches when I fight for you.
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