1.         Arraignment:  Your first appearance in court after being charged with a criminal offense is known as an arraignment date.  The charges will be read to you and you will be expected to enter a plea.  Typically a criminal defendant will choose to enter a “Not Guilty” plea at this time.  Your presence in court for arraignment is mandatory unless you have hired an attorney to make other arrangements with the court.

2.      Bail:     The law presumes that you are entitled to remain free while your case works its way through the court system.  Sometimes at your arraignment the District Attorney will request that you post money with the court in order to insure that you appear for your future court dates.  This is known as “setting bail”.  If the court issues such an order and you cannot post the bail you will be held in jail during the pendency of your case.  You need an experienced attorney to convince the judge to set bail on terms that are favorable to you, not the District Attorney.

3.       Plea Bargaining:      The vast majority of criminal cases are concluded without a trial through a process known as “plea bargaining”.  Your attorney will negotiate with the District Attorney and convince the judge to accept a plea bargain that you agree with.  You need an experienced attorney to advocate your best interests to the District Attorney and the judge for a favorable plea bargain.

4.        Pre-Trial Motions:     There may be instances where evidence gathered by the police cannot be used against you at trial.  It is often up to your attorney to notice when this is the case and to file the proper motions.  You need an attorney who recognizes when evidence against you should not be allowed to be used by the District Attorney.

5.        Trial:    Those cases which are not disposed of by way of a plea bargain, or after a motion to exclude evidence against you, will proceed to trial.  You may have a trial with a jury, or you may elect to have a trial with only a judge sitting without a jury.  The goal at trial is to have the judge or jury find you “not guilty”.  This is known as an “acquittal”.  Additionally, the District Attorney must prove the case against you beyond a reasonable doubt, subject to the rules of evidence.  If your attorney is not familiar with the trial judge, or does not have a firm knowledge of trial procedure and evidentiary rules you may be convicted of a crime unnecessarily.  You need an attorney at trial who is intimately familiar with the rules of procedure and evidence to maximize your chances of an acquittal.

LET AN EXPERIENCED CRIMINAL LAWYER WORK FOR YOU