Your Charges

YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED. OK, WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

• ARRAIGNMENT  - This is your first appearance before a Judge. It is an opportunity for a formal reading of the charges against you (usually something your attorney will ask the Court to dispense with, as it serves little useful purpose, if any) and for bail, if any to be set. It is extremely important that you have a private lawyer appear at the arraignment if at all possible. Although the Court may have a public defender "stand in" for your arraignment it is difficult for them to effectively advocate for twenty or more defendants in a row. Private counsel will bring a fresh approach to your bail application and may  significantly  impact on the Judge's decision on bail. Remember, if bail is set so high that you cannot afford it you may be in jail until your case is concluded. You can be charged by a number of different documents, known as "accusatory instruments".
  
  

• CONFERENCE  - All matters are generally conferenced to determine if a disposition, commonly referred to as a "plea bargain" can be reached that is agreeable to both the prosecutor and defendant/defense counsel. Even though this is a beginning  stage in the process experienced defense counsel will usually (although not always) seek to present to the prosecutor and/or their supervisor all perceived weakness in their case in an attempt to get the best offer possible. 
  
  The are also conferences with the Judge, both when there is a plea bargain and when no offer to reduce the charges has been made by the prosecutor. You  want to know not only what you may plead to but what penalties the Court intends to impose so you can fully assess the appropriate path to travel, plea or trial.  
  
  Not all cases will be conferenced. The nature of the crime, your criminal history and the policies of the district attorney in your county may limit or eliminate the possibility of discussion of either  as to a reduction of the charges, the severity of the sentence or both.
  
  

•  PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS AND HEARINGS  - If no offer is accepted your matter will proceed to disclosure (the prosecutor must present you with certain material so that your attorney can prepare for trial.  Motions to suppress interviews and statements, to suppress evidence seized, or to exclude business records will be used to damage if not destroy the case against you. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution as well as State and Federal case law set forth the standards which the police and prosecutor must meet of they are to introduce damaging evidence against you at trial. Pre-trail motions and hearings are a critical stage in your defense .   
  
  

• TRIAL - A defendant can choose whether the trial will take place before a jury or whether only a judge will hear the evidence. If the defendant receives a verdict of "not guilty", that is the end of the case. If the defendant is found guilty, they may (rarely) be sentenced immediately, or the sentencing may be set over for a separate date, following the preparation of a pre-sentence report.  
  
  

• APPEAL - If all does not go as desired at the trial level and the result is, in whole or in part, due to prosecutorial misconduct, judicial error (or ineffective assistance of counsel) you may be able to challenge the result through an appeal. An appeal is a formal request that a "higher" body,  typically a higher court (in New York the Appellate Term, the Appellate Division or the Court of Appeals,  review the action, procedure, or decision of a lower court.

  Keith, Shapiro & Ford
  666 Old Country Road, Garden City, NY
  1 800-A R R E S T E D