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Stage 1: Arrest
A felony prosecution commences with an arrest, followed by a complaint being filed in the Justice Court. In some rare cases, the prosecution may instead seek an indictment from the Grand Jury.
Indictments
If an Indictment has been filed against a defendant, the matter will not proceed through the earlier justice court stages. Instead the case will start in the District Court, with an Initial Arraignment.
A Grand Jury is a group of people who meet in a closed hearing, and are presented with evidence from the Prosecutor regarding incidents which are alleged to be criminal in nature. Defense Counsel cannot be present, and cannot question any of the witnesses. However, Defense Counsel can provide the Prosecutor with evidence that might 'explain away the charges' and the Prosecutor has a duty to present that evidence to the Grand Jury. After hearing all the evidence, the Grand Jury then makes a determination whether criminal charges should be brought against a defendant. The burden of proof that must be shown by the Prosecution is the same as that in a preliminary hearing.
Cases can begin in justice court with a criminal complaint and be taken to the Grand Jury instead of proceeding through a preliminary hearing.ck
Stage 2: Arraignment
The defendant is set for arraignment within a few days - though this may be longer if the defendant posts bail and is out of custody. At this first court appearance, the defendant’s appearance can be waived if represented by an attorney. Typically the Defense will waive a reading of the charges filed by the District Attorney’s Office. The Defense should then address the matter of bail, if the defendant is still in custody. A NOT GUILTY plea is entered and a preliminary hearing date is set.
Discovery/Police Reports
Once the initial arraignment occurs, discovery becomes available from the Prosecutor. The discovery in a criminal case often is any police officer reports, statements by the victim(s), any statements made by witnesses, medical records, crime scene photos, victim photos, diagrams of the crime scene, as well as any statements made by the defendant.
The discovery must be reciprocal to meet constitutional rules. This simply means that the Prosecution must provide the Defense with any evidence they intend to use during the trial. The Prosecutor cannot hide evidence, and then surprise the defense at trial. These rules apply to the Defense Counsel as well.
Stage 3: Preliminary Hearing
Preliminary hearings only occur in cases involving gross misdemeanors or felonies. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is for the Judge to determine whether or not there is probable cause to bind over the case to the District Court level. The burden of proof for the Prosecutor in this hearing very low, in that the Prosecutor must only show by slight or marginal evidence that the defendant may have committed the crimes he/she is charged with. The preliminary hearing allows the Defense a preview of the Prosecution’s case, as well as having the Prosecution’s witnesses’ sworn testimony on the record for trial. At the end of the preliminary hearing, the Prosecutor may amend charges, dismiss charges, or add charges. The Judge may also dismiss some or all charges if there has not been enough evidence presented to support them. here to add text.
