Since you are here, either you or someone you know are already under arrest. Regardless of whether you’re guilty or not, you are not straight away taken before the jury or a judge after your arrest.
So, what happens when you’re arrested? Of course, you must be thinking if you need to worry about something serious. Well, let’s say you’ve reached the piece of content that can get you started in the right direction.
In this article, we will be discussing the procedures and processes that take place right after you are arrested.
Arraignment
For any offense, whether criminal or civil, the defendant is not taken directly for trial. There are a few other formalities that need to be fulfilled first.
One of these is an arraignment.
In simple words, it is the court procedure when the charges against the defendant are stated. However, as a reputed Orlando Criminal Attorney explains it, in most cases the offer given to you at arraignment will not be favorable. Usually, the prosecutor would be pressing more severe charges, which would not all be exactly true. So how do you escape?
Plea Negotiation
The next thing that is likely to happen is plea negotiation. As already mentioned, not all the charges pressed by the prosecutor would be true.
During plea negotiations, also known as plea bargaining, the defendant can either plead guilty or not guilty for some of the charges.
For the charges that you choose to plead not guilty, you’ll have to contest your claim in the court of law.
Litigation
In most cases, the plea negotiations usually end up in mutual agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor. However, if the negotiations fail, as a defendant you can choose to file a lawsuit.
Filing a lawsuit would mean you’ll have to contest the charges pressed against you.
Well, this is usually done a couple of ways. A seasoned defense attorney would suggest filing for a motion for dismissal or a motion to suppress.
Motion and Trial
If either or both of your motions are not successful, then you can still proceed for a trial in court, before a jury.
Your case would be tried before an unbiased jury and it would rest on the jury to decide whether you’re guilty or not.
It is noteworthy that having an experienced and well-versed criminal defense attorney by your side can make it easier to succeed in court trials. However, an inexperienced lawyer, on the other hand, can be responsible for the opposite.
The Right Course of Action…
Criminal cases should be taken with utmost levels of seriousness. This means being selective about the process of appointing a criminal defense attorney to represent your case. This should be done after careful research and analyzing the expert areas that the attorney is good at. If you are looking to hire a criminal defense lawyer or are looking to shift to a new one in the middle of your lawsuit, read more.
Nevertheless, whether you are charged with a puny theft or sexual assault, you stand a chance to seek concession. The only thing that you need to take care of is to consult with a good and trustworthy criminal defense attorney.
The right attorney can help you make the right decisions, help bargain plea, and even try to seek a softer penance for your crimes. But, since there are many claiming to be the best, you must decide for yourself.
