I’ve Been Arrested for a Felony and I Don’t Know What Will Happen Next

I will walk you through the whole procedure. If you want me to speak up on your behalf, cross-examine witnesses, and stand next to you during the case, contact me through this page.

When you are arrested

If you are taken into custody, the police will want to talk with you about your case. Before talking with you, the police must give you your Miranda warnings. Caution: they will try to get you to talk your way out of your charges. They tell you things like, we just want to hear your side of the story, and, if you talk to us we may be able to let you go. This is a trick! Suspects who actually believe this often end up making incriminating statements that can make an innocent person appear guilty. Don’t send yourself to jail by talking. If the officer has enough evidence against you to arrest you, he’s going to do that whether you talk or not. Please don’t make my job harder by providing “free” evidence for the prosecution.

Tell the police that you want an attorney before they ask you any questions. Then, keep quiet. Remember that all jail phone calls are recorded and traceable back to you. The sole exception is any call to your attorney or prospective attorney. Kendall Simsarian Attorney’s number is registered with the Fresno County Jail for nonrecordable calls.

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 tell the judge you can't afford a private attorney, you will be assigned to the public defender’s office. At some point you will be required to fill out a form or be interviewed to determine your eligibility for the services of the public defender. After the case is over, you will be assessed a reasonable amount for their services. Your attorney will enter pleas of not guilty to each of the crimes charged and deny any and all further allegations. The case will then be set for pre-preliminary examination, and for a preliminary examination. You will be asked wither you want the case set within statutory time limits, or whether you want to waive time. Hopefully, by this time, you have spoken with your attorney to determine which is the best course of action for your particular case.

At the pre-preliminary examination, the DA may make you an offer to plead guilty. If you accept the plea bargain, you skip forward to sentencing. If not, you confirm the preliminary examination. The plea bargain is designed to save the prosecutor work, and save the courts time and money. It only benefits the defendant if the defendant gets less time than going to trial and losing. Accepting a plea bargain at this early stage means that you admit that you did it, and almost never can be taken back. Beware accepting a deal so early before your case has been fully reviewed by your attorney. Sometimes even the judge will try to make you a deal to get you to plead guilty. Again, beware.

Preliminary Examination

The purpose of a preliminary examination is for a judge to decide whether there is sufficient cause to believe that you committed one or more of the charged crimes. The prosecutor is required to call witnesses and put on evidence at this hearing. They may just call the officers who wrote the reports. There is no legal requirement for the DA to call any alleged victim.

Your attorney must be allowed to cross-examine any witnesses. At the end of this 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 your case is dismissed. 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. You will then get a new court date for a second arraignment

Arraignment on Information

At this arraignment, you are again informed, though your attorney of the charges against you. These charges must only be those for which probable cause was proved at your preliminary examination. If the DA tries to throw in other charges, your attorney should set a motion to dismiss the information. Even if the charges are the same as the judge found probable cause for, if the ruling was in error, your attorney should file a motion to dismiss the information. Again, you will be given a choice as to whether to waive time or not. This is always a strategic decision that must be taken very seriously and made very carefully.

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 you are guilty of any and all charges. In order for you to be proved guilty, the DA must prove charges beyond any reasonable doubt. This will likely be the only chance you have to present evidence on your own behalf. You will not get any other opportunity to show the jury that you are innocent. This stage includes, In LImine Motions, Jury Selection, Opening Statements, Witness Testimony, Closing Arguments, Jury Instructions, and Verdict. This is the stage you want your lawyer to have heard the words “Not Guilty” on a regular basis.

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 or prison, actual or suspended; Jail alternatives, such as community service, work program, or electronic monitoring; Probation orders, which can be informal, such as "obey all laws for the next 3 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).