I'VE BEEN ARRESTED - WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

FELONY
MISDEMEANOR
JUVENILE

FELONY CHARGES

IN CUSTODY

If you are taken into custody when you are arrested, the police may want to talk with you about your case.  Before talking with you, the police must tell you that you the following (often referred to as a Miranda advisement):

• You have the right to remain silent
• Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
• You have the right to talk to an attorney and to have an attorney present before and during questioning
• If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed free of charge to represent you if you desire

Do not talk to the police about your case.  Tell the police that you do not want to talk to them about your case and that you want an attorney.  Then, say no more.  You are entitled to a phone call.

However, except for attorney calls, your jail phone calls are recorded!  Do not discuss the case, or anything related to it, with anyone other than your attorney.  Likewise, your jail visits can be audiotaped.

INITIAL ARRAIGNMENT

The very first court appearance is called the arraignment.  At the arraignment, the court provides you or your private attorney with a copy of the complaint.  The complaint is a written document, filed by the prosecutor, accusing you of one or more crimes.  If you can't afford a private attorney, the court typically refers you to the Public Defender's Office and sets a future date for your case in one of the felony court rooms.  

If you are in jail, an attorney from the Public Defender's Office will visit you to determine whether or not you qualify financially for the services of the Public Defender. 

If you are out of custody, you will go to the Public Defender's Office at Room 139, Marin Hall of Justice, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903, and an attorney will conduct a financial evaluation in the Public Defender's Office.  At this first meeting, your attorney will briefly discuss your case and your history.  If there is no police report available, the attorney may wait to obtain the police report before talking with you in more detail about what happened in your case. 

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL AND ENTRY OF PLEA

At the next court date, the Public Defender's Office is officially appointed as counsel of record on your case (if you qualify for our services).  If you are out of custody, you may want to call the office at (415) 499-6321, to discuss the case with the assigned attorney before your court date.  Your attorney will most likely enter a not guilty plea on your behalf and may set the case for a preliminary hearing. 

CHANGE OF PLEA OR TRIAL SETTING

After you have been accepted as a Public Defender client, your attorney will speak to the prosecutor (District Attorney) about possible ways to resolve your case short of preliminary hearing and/or trial.  This process, called plea bargaining, simply gives you additional information and choices to make about how you wish to handle your case. 

A District Attorney offer typically is in the form of if the defendant will plead guilty now to the charge we want him to plead guilty to, then the prosecution will dismiss other counts in the complaint or reduce the penalties. 

If you take the offer, then the prosecutor does:

• not have to reassign the case to another prosecutor.
• not have to prepare the case for trial
• not have to interview witnesses,
• not have to bring the witnesses to court,
• not have to bring the evidence brought to court,
• and law enforcement officers do not have to come to court.

Therefore, the bargain for a prosecutor in a plea bargain is that it saves the prosecutor work, and it saves the courts time and money. Of course, whether the offer is a bargain for you is something that you will discuss with your lawyer.  But the decision whether to accept or reject a prosecutor's offer of a plea bargain is your decision.

If you accept the offer by the prosecutor, then a number of things happen. First, you will review with an attorney the contents of a change of plea form. After you initial and sign the change of plea form, you will give it back to your lawyer who will review it and sign it. The change of plea form is then given to the judge.  The judge will show you the change of plea form and ask you questions about it such as: Are these your initials?;  Is that your signature?;  This form says you want to plead guilty to count 1, is that what you want to do?; and, other questions to make sure you know and understand what you are doing and that the plea is what you want to do.

Instead of entering a bargain with the District Attorney, you may want to enter a bargain with the judge.  Your attorney may go into the judge's office and discuss your case with the District Attorney present.  The judge may make an offer such as:  If your client pleads guilty to all of the charges, I won't send him/her to state prison (I will give them probation and local jail time).   If you get an offer from the judge, the District Attorney will withdraw any offer they may have made to you.

If you do not accept the District Attorney or the judge's offer, then you will proceed to preliminary hearing and trial. 

PRELIMINARY HEARING

The purpose of a preliminary hearing is for a judge to decide whether there is sufficient cause for the judge to believe that you committed one or more of the charged crimes. The prosecutor calls witnesses and puts on evidence at the preliminary hearing.

If you are in custody you are entitled to a preliminary hearing within 10 court days from the date of your arraignment.  Court days means those days in which the court is open for business; Saturday, Sunday, and holidays are excluded.  If you are out of custody you are entitled to a preliminary hearing within 60 calendar days. 

To effectively defend some cases, it is sometimes necessary for the person accused to give up (waive) the right to a speedy preliminary hearing and/or a speedy trial so the defense lawyer can obtain all the necessary evidence and reports from the prosecution and complete the defense investigation. Your attorney will advise you whether or not they believe a waiver would be helpful in your case and the reason for it.  You then decide if you want to waive your right to a speedy preliminary hearing.

At the hearing, your attorney will question the witnesses. Your attorney might also present evidence at the preliminary hearing, (for tactical reasons, presentation of such evidence is rare), but this is a decision your attorney will make. At the end of the preliminary hearing, the judge will decide whether the evidence produced establishes probable cause to believe that you committed a crime.

If the judge decides there is no probable cause, then you win. If the judge decides there is probable cause to believe you committed one of the charged crimes, then the judge will issue an order requiring you to stand trial.  If the preliminary hearing judge issues an order holding you to answer the charges at trial, then a date will be set for your arraignment for trial.   

ARRAIGNMENT ON INFORMATION

Arraignment for trial must occur within 15 days of your preliminary examination. 
Arraignment for trial is a very brief court appearance in front of a judge typically lasting two minutes or less. You must be present at the arraignment for trial.

At the arraignment for trial, your lawyer is given two things. First, your lawyer is given a written document listing the charges you must face in the trial court. This document is called an information.  Second, your lawyer is given a copy of the preliminary hearing transcript. The preliminary hearing transcript is a written version of what people said under oath at the preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing transcript is not available until the date of the trial court arraignment. In addition to receiving the information and the preliminary hearing transcript your lawyer will be given a motion filing date and a trial date.

TRIAL

At trial, 12 members of the community will listen to the evidence and decide whether or not you are guilty of the charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt.  The trial is required to begin within 60 days from the date of your trial court arraignment. You must be present on time every day of your trial.  You may waive your right to a speedy trial and postpone the date beyond this time limit.  This timing is a strategic question to discuss with your attorney.

DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT YOUR CASE, OTHER THAN YOUR ATTORNEY.  IF YOU TALK TO OTHER PERSONS, THEY MAY LATER BE FORCED TO TESTIFY AGAINST YOU.  THIS INCLUDES FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Your lawyer will want to talk with you as soon as possible about the case.

To help him or her, please write or print the following:

• Any questions you have.
• The names of all witnesses.
• The nicknames or other names the witnesses are known by, if any.
• The addresses of all witnesses.
• The telephone number of all witnesses.
• The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of people who can tell the court something favorable about either the facts of the case or about you, the accused, personally.

If you are out of custody, please telephone the Public Defender’s office at (415) 499-6321 as soon as possible to make an appointment to discuss your case with your attorney.

SENTENCING

If you are convicted of a Felony either by pleading guilty, or at trial, the judge will sentence you.  Felony sentencing can include a combination of many things, depending on the crimes and facts involved, and your personal history.  Typical court orders include such items as:

• Jail, actual or suspended
• Jail alternatives, such as community service
• Probation orders, which can be informal, such as “lead a law abiding life for the next number of years”, or formal, such as “follow all the instructions ordered by your Probation Officer.”
• Restitution (paying back anyone injured, or paying a sum to various community funds to prevent crime and such).
• Fines or their alternatives.
• Counseling, treatment, or education programs (drinking driver programs, or domestic violence programs, for example),

Please be certain you understand all of the terms of your sentence, and comply with them.  We recommend you keep a “diary” or personal record so you can keep track of all you have done.  Ask your lawyer to explain anything that seems confusing. 

MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

IN CUSTODY

If you are taken into custody when you are arrested, the police may want to talk with you about your case.  Before talking with you, the police must tell you the following (often referred to as a Miranda advisement):

• You have the right to remain silent
• Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
• You have the right to talk to an attorney and to have an attorney present before and during questioning
• If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed free of charge to represent you if you desire

Do not talk to the police about your case.  Tell the police that you do not want to talk to them about your case and that you want an attorney.  Then, say no more.  You are entitled to a phone call.

However, except for attorney calls, your jail phone calls are recorded!  Do not discuss the case, or anything related to it, with anyone other than your attorney.  Likewise, your jail visits can be audiotaped.

ARRAIGNMENT

The very first court appearance is called the arraignment.  At the arraignment, the court provides you or your private attorney with a copy of the complaint.  The complaint is a written document, filed by the prosecutor, accusing you of one or more crimes.  If you can't afford a private attorney, the court typically refers you to the Public Defender's Office and gives you a date to come back to court with an attorney and to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.  

If you are in jail, an attorney from the Public Defender's Office will visit you to determine whether or not you qualify financially for the services of the Public Defender. 

If you are out of custody, you will go to the Public Defender's Office at Room 139, Marin Hall of Justice, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903, and an attorney will conduct a financial evaluation in the Public Defender's Office.  At this first meeting, your attorney will briefly discuss your case and your history.  If there is no police report available, the attorney may wait to obtain the police report before talking with you in more detail about what happened in your case. 

APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL AND ENTRY OF PLEA

At the next court date, the Public Defender's Office is officially appointed as counsel of record on your case (if you qualify for our services).   Public Defender cases are called at 10:30 a.m., usually in Department M.   Non-English speaking clients are usually called on the 2:00 p.m. calendar.  If you are out of custody, you may want to call the office at (415) 499-6321, to discuss the case with the assigned attorney before your court date. 

On your court date: it is very important that you come to Room 139, the Public Defender's Office, between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.  Spanish and other misdemeanor clients who require a translator should be in the office by 1:00 p.m.. one hour before the 2:00 p.m. calendar begins.  The hour before court is the time you will meet with your attorney and discuss the best way to approach your case.

CHANGE OF PLEA OR TRIAL SETTING

After you have been accepted as a Public Defender client, your attorney will speak to the prosecutor (District Attorney) about possible ways to resolve your case short of trial.  This process, called plea bargaining, simply gives you additional information and choices to make about how you wish to handle your case. 

A District Attorney offer typically is in the form of if the defendant will plead guilty now to the charge we want him to plead guilty to, then the prosecution will dismiss other counts in the complaint or reduce the penalties. 

If you take the offer, then the prosecutor does:

• not have to reassign the case to another prosecutor.
• not have to prepare the case for trial
• not have to interview witnesses,
• not have to bring the witnesses to court,
• not have to bring the evidence brought to court,
• and law enforcement officers do not have to come to court.

Therefore, the bargain for a prosecutor in a plea bargain is that it saves the prosecutor work, and it saves the courts time and money. Of course, whether the offer is a bargain for you is something that you will discuss with your lawyer.  But the decision whether to accept or reject a prosecutor's offer of a plea bargain is your decision.

If you accept the offer by the prosecutor, then a number of things happen. First, you will review with an attorney the contents of a change of plea form. After you initial and sign the change of plea form, you will give it back to your lawyer who will review it, sign it. The change of plea form is then given to the judge.  The judge will show you the change of plea form and ask you questions about it such as:  Are these your initials?; Is that your signature?;  This form says you want to plea guilty to count 1, is that what you want to do?; and, other questions to make sure you know and understand what you are doing and that the plea is what you want to do.

If you do not accept the District Attorney's offer, then you will set the case for trial or some other kind of hearing.  At trial, 12 members of the community will listen to the evidence and decide whether or not you are guilty of the charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt.

TRIAL

If you are in custody you are entitled to a trial within 30 days from the date of your arraignment.  If you are out of custody you are entitled to a trial within 45 days.  In either situation, you may waive your right to a speedy trial and postpone the date beyond these time limits.  This timing is a strategic question to discuss with your attorney.

DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT YOUR CASE, OTHER THAN YOUR ATTORNEY.  IF YOU TALK TO OTHER PERSONS, THEY MAY LATER BE FORCED TO TESTIFY AGAINST YOU.  THIS INCLUDES FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Your lawyer will want to talk with you as soon as possible about the case.

To help him or her, please write or print the following:

• Any questions you have.
• The names of all witnesses.
• The nicknames or other names the witnesses are known by, if any.
• The addresses of all witnesses.
• The telephone number of all witnesses.
• The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of people who can tell the court something favorable about either the facts of the case or about you, the accused, personally.

If you are out of custody, please telephone the Public Defender's office at (415) 499-6321 as soon as possible to make an appointment to discuss your case with your attorney.

SENTENCING

If you are convicted of a misdemeanor either by pleading guilty, or at trial, the judge will sentence you.  Misdemeanor sentencing can include a combination of many things, depending on the crimes and facts involved, and your personal history.  Typical court orders include such items as:

• Jail, actual or suspended
• Jail alternatives, such as community service
• Probation orders, which can be informal, such as lead a law abiding life for the next number of years, or formal, such as follow all the instructions ordered by your Probation Officer.
• Restitution (paying back anyone injured, or paying a sum to various community funds to prevent crime and such).
• Fines or their alternatives.
• Counseling, treatment, or education programs (drinking driver programs, or domestic violence programs, for example),

Please be certain you understand all of the terms of your sentence, and comply with them.  We recommend you keep a “diary” or personal record so you can keep track of all you have done.  Ask your lawyer to explain anything that seems confusing. 

JUVENILE

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A CITATION!
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

MOST CHARGES:
The police officer will prepare a report and send it to the Juvenile Probation Office.

• If you are already on probation the report will be given to your Probation Officer who will send it on to the District Attorney.  The District Attorney will decide if the report shows that you have violated the law.

• If the D.A. decides that the report does not show that a crime was committed nothing further will happen.
• If the D.A. decides that the report does show that a crime was committed s/he will file charges, called a Petition, and will have the Court Clerk send you and your parents copies of the Petition and a Notice to Appear in the Juvenile Court, 14 Jeannette Prandi Way, San Rafael.  The Notice will set a Court date in approximately three weeks.  You and at least one of your parents or guardians must appear.

• If you are not on probation the report will be assigned to a probation officer who will contact you and your parent/s and ask you to come to the office to meet with the probation officer.

• The Probation Officer you meet with has the ability to put the case over six months and close (dismiss) the case if you do certain agreed upon things. These things can include community service, counseling, and/or urinalysis testing.  This program is called Informal Probation.  In this program you never go to court and there is never any finding that you violated the law.  The case is simply dismissed if you complete all the requirements.
•  If you do not want to participate in Informal Probation or if the Probation Officer believes you would not be able to successfully complete Informal Probation, the Probation Officer will forward the report to the District Attorney who will decide if the report shows that you have violated the law and proceed as described above.

When you arrive for your first court date you will meet with a lawyer who has been  assigned by the Judge to represent you.  There will be no witnesses in court this day and no final decisions will be made about your case this day.  You will see the Judge after talking to your lawyer.  The Judge will want to know that you understand the charges and to answer any questions you have about your rights in the Juvenile Delinquency system.  The Judge will ask how you and your attorney want to proceed or if you need longer to decide how to proceed.

MORE SERIOUS CHARGES:
The police officer will prepare a report and send it to the Juvenile Probation Office.

The Probation Officer will send the report to the District Attorney who will decide if the report shows you have violated the law.

• If the D.A. decides that the report does not show that a crime was committed, nothing further happens.

• If the D.A. decides that the report does show that a crime was committed s/he will file charges, called a Petition, and will have the Court Clerk send you and your parents copies of the Petition and a Notice to Appear in the Juvenile Court, 14 Jeannette Prandi Way, San Rafael.  The Notice will set the Court date in approximately three weeks.  You and at least one of your parents or guardians must appear.

In certain felony charges, the Court will send you written information about the Deferred Entry of Judgment program.  There may be many benefits to you if you decide to participate in this program so it is important to read the information about the program before coming to court and speaking to your lawyer.

SOME OTHER CHARGES - JUVENILE TRAFFIC COURT

Some citations will be referred to Juvenile Traffic Court.

Charges that are infractions, mostly those which cannot result in you going to Juvenile Hall as a punishment, are heard in the Juvenile Traffic Court at the Civic Center Hall of Justice, San Rafael.  You will not be automatically appointed a Public Defender in this type of case because you cannot be incarcerated or punished by the Court more severely than a fine.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT JUVENILE TRAFFIC COURT: Occasionally more serious cases with more serious punishments such as incarceration or mandatory loss of license are put on the Juvenile Traffic Court calendar.  These charges are called misdemeanors.  In these cases you are entitled to have the Public Defender represent you.  If you would like to talk to a Public Defender before proceeding on your case, tell the Juvenile Traffic Referee (the judge) and s/he will tell you how to arrange for that to happen.  If you are not sure whether you are entitled to a Public Defender by being subject to greater penalties or by being charged with a misdemeanor you should ask the Juvenile Traffic Referee.

I HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO JUVENILE HALL!
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Your parents have a right to visit you within 24 hours of your coming into detention in Juvenile Hall.  They should call (415)499-3293 to arrange the visit.

Children do not have a right to bail, so if the police officer takes you to Juvenile Hall neither you nor your parents can deposit money in exchange for your release.  You will have to wait to be seen by a Probation Officer, who can release you from the Hall, or to be seen by a Judge who also can release you from the Hall.

If you do not already have a probation officer, one will be assigned to you on the first business day following your booking into the Hall.  Your Probation Officer will contact you in the Hall and will call your parents for the purpose of deciding whether to recommend you be released.  Your parents can call (415)-499-6659 during business hours to get the name of your assigned Probation Officer and to speak to him or her.

If you have been taken to Juvenile Hall, the decisions about filing a charge are made as described above, only more quickly.  You will go to court on the next court day after you are detained in Juvenile Hall.  Juvenile cases are heard on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons at 1:30 in the courtroom at 14 Jeannette Prandi Road, San Rafael.

Here is a link to a map to the Juvenile Service Center and the courtroom: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=14+jeannette+prandi+way,+san+rafael,+ca&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.080837,60.732422&ie=UTF8&z=16&om=1

Here is a link to the public transportation services to the courtroom:
http://www.marintransit.org/marinwood.html

ANSWERS TO FAQs

Why do some children go to the hall and others don't for the same crime?
Police Officers have the discretion in all cases, whether serious or minor, to either release you to your parents or to take you to Juvenile Hall.

Should I answer police questions about the crime?
If you are in custody or if you feel that you are not free to leave the presence of the police officer and if s/he wants to ask questions about the alleged crime, you have the right to have an attorney or your parent present.  Even if you do not know any lawyers, you can ask to have a lawyer present and the Public Defender will be made available to you.  You should always ask to have an attorney or your parent present when you are being asked questions about an alleged crime.

What if my parents and I don't agree about how to proceed on my case?
Before you appear in court you will meet with a lawyer who has been assigned to represent YOU.  This lawyer’s job is to get the result that YOU want for your case.  Occasionally parents and children have different goals, but the lawyer is working for YOU, not your parents, and YOU will determine the course of your case in consultation with your lawyer.

Can I lose my driver's license even if the charge didn't involve driving?
Yes.  If you go to court and the Judge finds that you violated any law regarding illegal drugs, alcohol, graffiti, vandalism, truancy or prostitution the Department of Motor Vehicles is required to revoke your driver's license for one year.  If you do not yet have a license the DMV will delay your ability to get a license for one year.