1. Most criminal cases begin when a private citizen reports a crime to a local law enforcement agency. This would typically be city police, state police or the sheriff’s office.
2. The law enforcement agency will do an investigation, collect evidence, talk to witnesses and suspects and then write a report of their findings. If it is determined that a crime was committed, the reports are forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office and a criminal case is filed in the Magistrate Court.
3. If the crime is a misdemeanor (total possible jail sentence 364 days or less) then all hearings in the case will be in Magistrate Court. If it is a felony case (possible jail sentence of a year or more) then only the First appearance of the accused, or “defendant,” and the Preliminary Hearing are held in Magistrate Court. After the preliminary Hearing, if probable cause is found to believe the accused committed the crime, then the case is sent on to District Court.
4. Once the District Attorney’s Office is involved in the case, they are the ones who prosecute it from the State’s side. All felony cases are prosecuted by the D.A.’s Office. Misdemeanor DWI’s and Domestic Violence cases are also always handled by the D.A.’s office. Other misdemeanor cases may be handled by the arresting officer or later sent to the D.A. for assistance.
5. If you are a victim or a witness to a crime and have been contacted by law enforcement, then you will probably be called to court to participate in the case. I a felony case,after the defendant is arrested he or she is entitled to a Preliminary Hearing. If the accused is in jail (has not posted bond and been released) the Preliminary Hearing must be held within ten days. You will likely be called to court, possibly by being served a subpoena, to testify at the Preliminary Hearing if necessary.
6. A Preliminary Hearing is the right of the accused person to make the State put on some evidence to show the Magistrate Judge that there is sufficient reason to believe a crime was actually committed by the defendant. Most of the time, when the State has it’s witness present, the defendant will”waive” his right to a Preliminary Hearing. When that happens, witnesses and victims showed up, had to hang around the courthouse for a little while (maybe a couple of hours) and never actually had to testify. If the defendant wants his hearing, then you will have to take the stand, get sworn in to tell the truth, the whole truth, etc.,and then tell the judge what you saw and heard regarding the case being heard.
7. Another important reason to be at court is that plea discussions begin at this point in the process. The defendant’s attorney and the prosecutor for the State will begin to talk about what should happen to the defendant at the end of the case. The State wants your input on what should happen to the defendant and what is “justice.” Sometimes the victims and defendants have relationships or are family and the victim has had a change of heart and wants the whole matter dropped. If that is what you want you will still need to be in court or we wont know that. It is still up to the prosecutor to decide how to handle the case but we need to hear from you.
8. The State will have people there to help you get through the process of being a witness. The law enforcement officer you talked to at the scene of the crime will be there. The prosecutor for the State will be there, and we’re all nice guys and girls. We also have victim advocates present to help you with the process and being in the right place at the right time.
9. Victim Advocates serve another role as well. For victims of certain crimes, the Advocates can fill out paperwork to get help from the State for medical bills received as a result of violent crimes. They can help victims find counseling and rehabilitation assistance, and help victims of Domestic Violence find shelter or new living arrangements.
10. At the end of Preliminary Hearing, the case is “bound over” to the District Court. This means the case file goes form Magistrate Court to District Court and all future hearings will be held there. It is usually about a month until the next hearing, which is an Arraignment. This is where the judge tells the defendant and his lawyer what the official charges are against him or her. The case is then set for a Pretrial Conference about another three months later.
11. If you are the victim of a crime, you will be notified of all the hearings in the case. In order for the District Attorney to keep you informed it is very important that you keep us updated with current contact information for you. In this age of technology we can communicate hearing dates and times to you by telephone, cell phone, texts, email, snail mail, however you want to receive it, but we need to know how to find you.
12. Most cases, somewhere along the way, ultimately result in the defendant entering a guilty plea without the necessity of a jury trial. Don’t lay awake at night at this point dreading a trial date and having to testify when it probably wont happen. We are not afraid to try our share of jury trials, but it is still the exception rather than the rule for a case to go to trial.
13. If a plea offer is made in the case the prosecutor will discuss this within the victims of the crime. Plea discussions may begin way back at the Preliminary Hearing stage so that this is another reason it is important to be there.
14. When the case gets to a Pretrial Conference, if the State and the defendant have not reached a plea agreement, the judge will set the case for trial. This will likely be another three months or so away. About a month or six weeks before trial the District Attorney’s Office will send out subpoenas to notify witnesses and victims of the day and time of the trial.
15. Somewhere along the way, interviews will be set up with witnesses and victims. These usually occur at our office in Farmington but occasionally can be held in other locations that are more convenient to you. At the interview, the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney will be there to ask you again what happened, what saw, heard, etc., in regard to the crime. No one will try to embarrass you. The Victim Advocate you met in court will be there. It is just part of the process to make sure the defendant gets a fair criminal process and trial. No one is going to pry into things about you that have nothing to do with the case. The State has some control over the interview process and will be there for you. Technically, you are not our “client”, but you are our victim or witness and we will do our best to protect you and your rights.
16. As the trial approaches, most cases still end by the defendant pleading guilty ahead of time. But it often happens right before trial. So, stay in touch with us as this time draws near so we can keep you informed.
17. If the case goes to trial, the Victim Advocate, who you know pretty well by now, will be there to help you through it. You wont be able to sit in the courtroom until after you have testified. Then it is your choice to stay and watch the rest of the trial or you may goon with your day. At the end of the trial we will let everyone know what the outcome was.
18. Once a defendant is found guilty, either at trial or by entering his or her voluntary plea of guilt, then a sentencing hearing is set. This is another important day in the criminal process and a day you might want to attend. Victims, witnesses and other people interested in the defendant’s sentence are entitled to tell the judge what kind of sentence would be fair in their mind. If you are a victim and do not want to see the defendant you can still inform the court of your thoughts on sentencing by writing it down and we will have your Victim Advocate read it aloud in the courtroom for the judge to hear.
19. A criminal case may take a year or more from beginning to end. We appreciate your patience with the process and ask you to let us know when we can change something in the way the District Attorney’s Office handles things to make it better.