What To Do If You Are Arrested
If you’ll create a bond (money to secure your release), then you may be discharged from jail, however, given that you’ve got no different holds. (A hold could be a detainer placed on you by another governmental agency that needs you to control unfinished clearance of the hold. Example: If you had unpaid traffic tickets you may be controlled in jail till they were paid otherwise you served them out with jail time.) If you cannot make a bond or don’t qualify for pretrial release), then you will remain in jail while your case is pending.
If You Are Free On Bond
In several courts, if you’ve got been able to create a bond, then you will be expected to hire an attorney to represent you. However, in some courts if you’ll prove that you just square measure impoverished unable to afford to rent Associate in Nursing attorney), then you may request that the court provide you with a court-appointed lawyer. The court itself should procure the services of the court-appointed professional person. The cost of this illustration could also be passed onto you at a later time, in the form of court fees. A court-appointed professional person could also be either a personal professional person WHO takes court appointments or could also be a lawyer. (See Defense Attorney.)
If You Are In Jail
If you are in Jail (Incarcerated and unable to make a bond) You may hire your attorney or if you are indigent the court will automatically appoint an attorney to represent you. If {you square measure|you’re} unable to create a bond and are impoverished, the court will appoint your lawyer within 24 hours of incarceration. You will be contacted by the professional person however might not truly meet with the professional person till the police file a case against you. This may take up to 72 hours.
If You Are Not a U.S. Citizen
If you’re in remission and you’re not a U.S. Citizen, in most cases the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) can place a hold on you. This hold will keep you in jail, whether or not you are able to make a bond. The approach during which your criminal case is handled can directly have an effect on your resident standing. This should be one in every of the most problems you refer to your professional. If in the slightest degree doable, you should seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in immigration issues.
Different Levels of Offenses
At the Frank Crowley Courthouse, offenses are prosecuted at the lowest level of Class B misdemeanor up to the highest level of First Degree felony. Examples of the amount of every sort of offense and therefore the doable ranges of social control square measure as follows:
Class B Offense
Confinement for a term to not exceed one hundred eighty days within the county jail; and/or a fine to not exceed $2,000. Example: DWI (“drunk driving”), Criminal Trespass, Theft by Check $50 to $500, evading arrest or detention.
Class A Offense
Confinement for a term to not exceed one year within the county jail; and/or a fine to not exceed $4,000. Example: a second DWI, Assault, Burglary of a Vehicle, Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon.
State Jail Crime
Confinement for a term from {180|one hundred eighty|a hundred Associate in Nursingd eighty} days to 2 years during a state jail; and a facultative fine to not exceed $10,000. Example: Mastercard Abuse, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Reckless Injury to a Child.
Third Degree Crime
Confinement for a term from 2 to ten years in prison; Associate in Nursing a facultative fine to not exceed $10,000. Example: a 3rd DWI, Indecency with a toddler, Kidnapping, Possession of a gun by a Felon.
Second Degree Crime
Confinement for a term from 2 to twenty years in prison; Associate in Nursing a facultative fine to not exceed $10,000. Example: Aggravated Assault or Kidnapping (if the victim is released unharmed), Arson, Robbery, Sexual Assault.
First Degree Felony
First Degree Felony -confinement for life or a term from five to 99 years in prison; and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. Example: Murder, Aggravated Kidnapping, Robbery or Sexual Assault.
Capital Crime
Social control in jail for keeps or corporal punishment. If the State doesn’t ask for the corporal punishment, upon conviction, an automatic life sentence is imposed. Where the State seeks the corporal punishment, upon conviction, the jury must answer questions which may result in either a sentence of life imprisonment or the death sentence. Example: Murder throughout the commission of another crime like snatch, rape or theft.
Different Levels Of Offenses
Misdemeanor Offenses:
Misdemeanor cases are filed by the police agency with the District Attorney’s workplace.
If the District Attorney’s workplace decides to prosecute the case, a document is formed known as data. (The data could be a written statement filed and conferred on behalf of the State of Texas by the prosecutor, charging the defendant with an offense.) It provides the defendant with a notice on the offense that he stands charged.
Once a data has been processed, a file is generated and the case is randomly assigned to one of 12 misdemeanor courts.
Felony Offenses:
Felony level offenses are filed by the police agency with the District Attorney’s workplace.
The District Attorney’s workplace then generates a charging instrument referred to as an indictment. (An indictment is the written statement of a grand jury accusing a person therein named of some act or omission which, by law, is declared to be an offense.) The indictment puts the litigant on notice concerning the fees being brought.
Once the work has been generated the case is then sent to be detected by the jury. (The jury could be a panel of voters who concisely review data provided by the police who then build a determination whether or not there’s adequate proof to believe that an offense has occurred.)
Any person charged with a law-breaking offense has an absolute right to possess his/her case indicted by the jury.
Once filed, a law-breaking case is randomly assigned to at least one of fifteen law-breaking courts. It may take 2 to a few weeks before a case is truly detected by the jury.
The jury can either issue a real bill of indictment or a no bill. True bill means the jury found that
What Happens When I Go To Court?
If you are in jail you’ll be dropped at the court on the jail chain (inmates are dropped at the courts in teams through secured access tunnels). You will not be dropped at court on your request but at the request of the court or the attorney representing you. In most courts, this happens inside 2 business days once your arrest. If you’re not brought right down to the court or notified that a lawyer has been appointed to your case, then you should request the sheriff in the jail allow you to send a kite to the court. (A kite could be a type on the market to inmates within the jail that permits them to contact the court directly while not hunting the regular mail procedures.)
If you’re set for a jury trial you’ll be dressed go into the garments you were reserved into jail in. Family or friends could bring you correct for the trial (see discussion of correct clothes below). The clothes ought to be taken to the jail, and the sheriff will keep them there until needed or your attorney will be able to give them to you the day of the trial. At all different times after you are dropped at court you’ll be wearing jail whites.
If you’re on the bond you’ll be notified by mail (at the address you gave the jail after you were released) on that court your case has been assigned, the court date and also the time you’re to seem. On your court date, you should go directly to that court. Each court posts a docket sheet before the court. The docket sheet lists the name of everyone who encompasses a court setting on any explicit day.
How the Case Proceeds
Misdemeanor Cases: This method begins once the case has been filed by the police and also the District Attorney’s workplace drafts data.
Felony Cases: This method begins once the jury problems a real bill of indictment. Once the case has been indicted, the process begins.
Announcement Settings
These settings permit each the attorney and also the assistant prosecutor a chance to debate the case and verify if the case is going to be laid-off, plea-bargained (a plea bargain could be a resolution of the case wherever each the State and also the litigant conform to an explicit penalization while not involving either a decide or jury) or set for a jury or bench trial. (A bench trial could be a trial to a decide while not a jury.)
Generally, a case is also set for announcement 2 to a few times. A person on the bond is also needed to seem in court anytime the case is about on the court’s docket, notwithstanding the kind of setting and regardless of whether that person’s attorney must also appear. If the person is in jail he or she’s going to not be mechanically dropped at the court for announcement settings, unless the defense attorney has requested the court to bring the person to the court on the jail chain.
The First Appearance Setting
If on bond the person defendant should seem in court. It will be determined at this setting if the litigant should rent a lawyer or if they qualify for a court-appointed attorney.
If in jail the person is going to be dropped at the court on the jail chain. If the litigant cannot afford to rent a lawyer and if an attorney has not already been appointed for the litigant, one is going to be appointed at now.
Plea Setting
If a suspect chooses to not have a jury or bench trial, then the case is ready for a plea. At the plea setting a person enters a plea of either guilty or nolo contender to the charges. (A plea of nolo contender means that a person is not pleading guilty but chooses to “no contest” the charges brought against him. It has a constant legal result as pleading guilty to the charge.) someone WHO pleads to the charge could settle for either the plea bargaining offered by the State, or he may enter an open plea. (An open plea means the suspect has rejected the plea bargaining and asks the decide to line penalty.)
Trial Setting
Every person charged with a criminal offense has an absolute right to plead not guilty to the charge and have a trial by jury or a trial before a judge (bench trial). In either case, the State of Texas, through an Assistant District Attorney, must prove a person guilty of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. In a misdemeanor trial, six jurors hear the evidence presented in the trial. At the felony level, there are 12 jurors. There are three possible phases to each jury trial. They are: voir dire (jury choice part); guilt/innocence phase (the time throughout the trial once the proof is presented); and, if the person is decided to be guilty, the punishment phase.
A jury’s call for guilt or innocence should be unanimous (this means all six or twelve individuals should reach a constant conclusion on the guilt or innocence of the person on trial). If the jury doesn’t reach a unanimous finding the decide could declare a trial (also referred to as a “hung jury”) and also the case is also retried.
A suspect WHO has been found guilty of associate offense could select whether or not the jury or the decision can set his or her penalty.
In a bench trial, the decide determines the guilt or innocence of the suspect and sets the penalty.
Probation
Depending on a variety of things, a person may be eligible to have a jail sentence probated. (Probated means that they are not sent to jail but are released and supervised by the Department of Community Supervision.)
The Roles Of Various Courtroom Personnel
Judge – Every infringement associated law-breaking Court has an electoral decide that presides over the court. In our system, the decision is to be impartial and is to base selections on the law and proof that’s conferred within the court. For this reason, the judge will not speak with a person accused of a crime or their friends or family. You should ne’er commit to contact the decide nose to nose, on the telephone or in writing. You may speak to then decide if you’re within the court with defense counsel gift.
Assistant District Attorney –An Assistant prosecuting officer maybe an attorney utilized by the prosecuting officer. There are 2 to 3 Assistant District Attorneys allotted to every court. They are responsible for the prosecution of all cases assigned to the court. They conduct jury and bench trials, moreover as creating plea bargaining recommendations. They have no contact with the defendant other than through the defendant’s attorney.
Defense Attorney – The defense lawyer will be either maintained (hired by the suspect) or appointed by the court to represent the defendant. Many of the courts that offer court-appointed attorneys use each non-public lawyers and public defenders. Private lawyers could settle for criminal cases for a fee and are paid by the county. Public defenders are lawyers WHO are utilized directly by the county and are allotted to figure in an exceedingly explicit court on a full-time basis.
Court Coordinator – This person works for the decision and handles the day to day business of the court. The arranger is sometimes to blame for crucial if someone is eligible to receive a court-appointed attorney and is well educated with respect to the policies and procedures of each individual judge. If you have got queries concerning court appearances and the other similar matters regarding your case, you may contact this person.
Court Clerks – The clerks allotted to every court don’t work directly for the decision, but rather, work for the county or district clerk’s office. They process all the paperwork that is generated in the court. They confirm a person’s back time (time already spent in jail) and calculate applicable fines and court prices. Court functionary – This person is the associate worker of the metropolis County Sheriff’s Department. The functionary is to blame for making certain the protection of the court, handling jail prisoners or those taken into custody in the court. They may conjointly decision the docket of the court and inform the decision if a suspect has appeared in court on the right day and time.
Courtroom Do’s And Don’ts
Proper Clothes – Any time you are to appear in court you should dress as though you are going to a job interview. Men ought to wear pants and a shirt with a collar. A suit, jacket or tie is always appropriate. Women should wear a dress, skirt or pants that are not too tight, too short, or low cut. It is ne’er correct to wear shorts, t-shirts or sandals. Excessive make-up or jewelry should not be worn. In the room itself, it’s ne’er correct to wear a hat, read a newspaper, eat, or chew gum.
Children and Court – Whereas it’s necessary for someone charged with an offense to possess members of the family and/or friends gift for an attempt or sentencing on a case, it is rarely, if ever, beneficial to have small children present. If there’s an opening that you just are also inactive at the court or sentenced to jail time you must not bring kids to the court unless you have got someone to care for your child in the event you are placed in jail. The court may very well contact the cycle (Child protecting Services) to require the kid into custody if a parent goes to jail.