Matthew J. Ruff Felonies Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Felony Case Process

Saturday, November 27, 2010 by Matthew J. Ruff

Felony prosecutions enjoy a unique process unlike misdemeanor cases in the state.  Felony Charges are iniated by the District Attorney and are vigorously pursued,  A felony charge can carry time in state prison and will ofetn require that the defendant lose his or her voting rights.

The first step  is called an arraignment and the purpose of this proceeding is to enter a plea  and allow the Court to set or modify bail.  At the arraignment the Court may allow motions to be filed and a preliminary hearing will be set within ten (10)  Court days of the arraignment, unless a waiver of the time limit is taken.

After arraignment, the prosecution will customarily issue subpoenas for  witnesses and victims to appear on the preliminary hearing date.  The prosecution issues subpoenas to a witness whenever the prosecution will rely on a witness for testimony at the preliminary hearing; the issuance of a subpoena does not mean the preliminary hearing is more or less likely to happen, nor does it reflect on the strength or weakness of the case.  It is merely a normal part of preparation.

The next step is a pre-preliminary hearing conference.  At this stage the attorney and prosecutor discuss the case in chambers with the judge.  The defense may ask for information  and evidence from the prosecution, called discovery.  The attorneys and Judges in the local Court also try to negotiate a resolution acceptable to both sides.  Defendants do not participate in the pre-preliminary hearing conference although your personal appearance in Court
is required.  This stage of the process gives the defense attorney all the evidence the prosecution intends to use in the case, time to consider and explore the evidence, and an opportunity to make efforts at resolving the case.  

Posted at 16:10 PM
Topic: Felonies
Lawyers.com Blog

Lawyers.comSM Blog

Get an inside view of
Lawyers.com

Blog Topics

Bloggers

Archives

Recent...