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What Happens After You Are Arrested in California?

Jan 16, 2017 | Bellflower

 What Happens After You Are Arrested in California?

Your Rights Prior, During, and After an Arrest

Even if you are being prosecuted as a criminal, every citizen of the United States has their natural born rights. Upon arrest your Miranda rights must be read to you. If the police fail to recite your Miranda rights to you upon arrest, than they cannot use any information that they have gathered from the arrest in court.

What Are Miranda Rights?

  • You have the right to remain silent;
  • Anything you say can be sued against you in a court of law;
  • You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during your interrogation;
  • If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you;
  • You can invoke your right to be silent before or during an interrogation, and if you do so, the interrogation must stop;
  • You can invoke your right to have an attorney present, and until your attorney is present, the interrogation must stop

What Happens After You Get Arrested? What Are the Procedures?

  • Arraignment
  • Preliminary Hearing
  • 2nd Arraignment (Superior Court)
  • Pretrial Hearing & Motions
  • Jury trial

What Happens During the Arraignment?

  • Charges against the defendant are read before a judge

What Happens During the Preliminary Hearing?

  • Prosecutor presents evidence to a judge in an attempt to show that suspicion of a crime exists
  • If the judge is convinced that a suspicion exists, the defendant is ‘held to answer,’ and the prosecution proceeds to the trial court level.

What Happens During the 2nd Arraignment (Superior Court)?

  • Fourteen days after the defendant is ‘held to answer,’ he is arraigned in the trial level court of the Superior court

What Happens During the Pretrial Hearing & Motions

  • A motion is a request asking a judge to issue a ruling order on a legal matter.
  • The pretrial is an attempt to resolve outstanding issues or trying to settle a case before it goes to jury trial.

What Happens During the Jury Trial?

  • Both the prosecution and the defense call their witnesses and present evidence in front of a judge and jury. The jury will analyze the evidence and come to a verdict. The judge will interpret the verdict into a proper sentencing

What Is the Deadline to File Notice of Appeal for Misdemeanor Charge?

  • The deadline to file a Notice of Appeal for a misdemeanor appeal is 30 days from the judgment or order that you are appealing.

What Is the Deadline to File a Notice Regarding Record of Oral Proceedings?

  • within 20 days of filing your notice of Appeals
  • or within 10 days after the Court decides whether to appoint a criminal defense attorney for you

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