The criminal justice system can be very confusing and scary. While you have the right to represent yourself in court, the advice of a lawyer is invaluable. While you may not feel you have the money to hire a lawyer, you may not be able to afford not to have a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer and are charged with an offense which carries possible jail or prison time, you are entitled to a court-appointed lawyer at state expense.

The information in this brochure is intended as general information only. Nothing in this brochure should be considered to replace the advice of your lawyer.

Crimes: Crimes are generally classified as felonies or misdemeanors. Generally, felonies are punished by a sentence of one year or more in prison. Misdemeanors are generally punished by one year or less in a county jail. Probation is also a possibility. Under probation, a person would not serve any time in jail or prison.

Criminal Proceedings: The following definitions are provided to explain the criminal justice process:

• Arrest and Booking: This is when a police officer takes you into custody and takes you to jail. The process of actually putting you in jail is called booking.
• Initial Appearance (Commonly referred to as “Arraignment”): If you are charged with a felony, this will be the first time you will go before a judge. Your legal rights will be described for you, and a bond will be set for you which you must arrange to pay before you may be released from jail. In some cases, this bond may be an Own-Recognizance Bond (“O.R. Bond”) which requires no payment of money to a bondsman. You also will be told the next time you are to appear in court. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, this initial hearing is called an arraignment.
• Preliminary Hearing Conference: This hearing may also be called a pre-preliminary hearing or an announcement docket. Generally, these hearings are a time for the prosecutor to make a plea bargain offer to you and your attorney. If you decide to accept the offer, you would waive or give up your right to a preliminary hearing and set your case for a date for you to plead guilty. If you do not accept the plea offer, you will have your case set for a preliminary hearing.
• Preliminary Hearing: A preliminary hearing is a court hearing where witnesses testify and the judge decides whether there is enough evidence against you to order you to have a trial. If the court believes there is enough evidence to believe a crime was committed and enough evidence to believe you committed the crime (often, this is called “probable cause”), the court will “bind you over” for trial. If the court does not believe there is enough evidence, the case is dismissed.
• Jury Call Docket: This is a hearing where you and your lawyer meet with the judge and the assistant district attorney to announce that you want a trial or to plead guilty.
• Plea or Disposition Docket: At this hearing, you will appear with your attorney and plead guilty or “no contest” to a judge. At this hearing the court will announce your punishment based on your plea bargain agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. If the judge thinks the punishment is not harsh enough, you will be allowed to withdraw your plea of guilty and have a trial.
• Blind Plea: If you do not have a plea bargain agreement with the District Attorney’s Office, you may still plead guilty. This type of plea is often called a “blind plea.” In this situation, you do not know the punishment the judge will give you and you are throwing yourself on the mercy of the court. If you do not like the punishment the court decides is appropriate for you, you do not have the right to have your case set for trial.
• Jury Trial: This is a hearing where a jury decides whether you are guilty of the crime with which you have been charged.
• Non-Jury or Bench Trial: This is a hearing where the judge decides whether you are guilty of the crime with which you have been charged.
• Deferred Sentence: You are not convicted of a crime until you are found guilty and punished for the crime. With a deferred sentence, the judge finds you guilty of the crime but postpones, delays or defers sentencing until a later date (from one day to five years). If you do everything the court orders you to do, the court will dismiss your case and the charge will not appear on your record. You may be ordered to pay all court costs and fees, see a probation officer, go to treatment and to make sure you do not break the law again.
• Suspended Sentence: You are convicted of a crime, but are on probation for all or part of the sentence; it is suspended so you do not have to go to prison for that amount of time, as long as you satisfy the conditions of probation. The probation may be “supervised” or “unsupervised.” If it is supervised, you must regularly report to a probation officer. If it is “unsupervised,” you simply must obey the rules of probation and not break the law.
• Bench Warrant: A bench warrant is an order by the court to have you arrested because you failed to appear in court when the court told you to appear.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

The Constitution of the United States guarantees you certain rights. The following are some of the more basic rights, but it is not a complete list. You have many other rights under our constitution.

Right to Remain Silent: When the police arrest you, you have the right to remain silent. You may talk to the police about the crime they arrested you for, but you do not have to. If you do start talking to the police, you may stop talking at any time during the interview or interrogation and ask for a lawyer before talking further. At that point the law enforcement officer must ask no more questions. Anything you say or write to the police can and will be used against you in court. You may also ask to have your lawyer with you when the police are asking you questions. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, the court may appoint a lawyer to represent you if the court believes you do not have enough money to hire one.

Right to be Represented by a Lawyer: You have the right to have a lawyer. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, you can submit the appropriate application, called either “Form 13.3” or “Pauper’s Affidavit,” which asks the judge to appoint a lawyer to represent you. One good reason to be represented by a lawyer is to make sure your rights have not been violated. Another reason is to ensure that you get all the evidence you need to defend yourself; many times a lawyer knows the kind of evidence that is best suited for a good defense. It is extremely risky to defend yourself in a criminal proceeding without a lawyer.

Right to Confront the Witnesses Against You. You have the right for your lawyer to ask questions of every witness against you if you go to trial.

Right not to be Stopped and Searched Without a Good Reason. Law enforcement officers have to have a good reason before they decide to arrest you or search you or your property. This is called “probable cause.” In some cases the officer must first get a judge to issue a search warrant.

In other cases, such as routine traffic stops for traffic violations, there must be some good reason why officers suspect you may be committing a crime before they may search without getting a warrant. You may lawfully refuse a request for consent to search. However, if an officer asks you simply to identify yourself or show ID, you must comply.

November 2004