Process of a Misdemeanor Case

Question: What is a misdemeanor?

Answer: A misdemeanor is a criminal charge that can carry a maximum sentence of 365 days in county jail and/or a substantial monetary fine.

ARRAIGNMENT:

    Your first court appearance is called an ARRAIGNMENT. There are five main purposes of ARRAIGNMENT:

1. The first purpose of ARRAIGNMENT is to formally advise you of the misdemeanor charge(s) brought against you by the prosecutor. For all misdemeanor cases, the prosecutor is called a city attorney.

    The charge(s) against you are contained in a document called the complaint. The complaint contains language from the actual law you are accused of violating with very little information specific to your case, other then the date the offense allegedly occurred.

2. The second purpose of ARRAIGNMENT is to appoint an attorney to represent you if you cannot afford to hire one.

    If you are in jail the day of your arraignment the court will appoint an attorney to represent you.  If you are not in jail the day of your arraignment, the court will ask you to fill out a financial declaration to determine whether your financial situation requires the court to appoint an attorney for you or whether you can afford to hire an attorney.  If the court finds that you are financially ineligible for a court appointed attorney your arraignment will be continued for a short period of time so you can hire an attorney to represent you. 

    You will speak with an attorney from the Public Defender's Office before you actually go in front of the judge for your ARRAIGNMENT. This attorney will have a copy of the complaint against you and/or the police report or citation made at the time of the incident.The attorney will ask you to tell them your side of the story. It is important to tell the attorney everything about your case. Your conversation with that attorney is completely confidential and they will not divulge any part of your conversation to the city attorney.

3. The third purpose of ARRAIGNMENT is to enter a plea to the charges against you.  You have the choice of pleading Not Guilty, Guilty, or No Contest.  The public defender that speaks to you about your case will also tell you if the city attorney has made any offers to settle your case for a less serious charge and/or a less serious sentence.

    A plea of Not Guilty means that you are not willing to take the prosecutor's offer.  It also means that the judge will set future court dates.   At this time the public defender will formally request that the Public Defender's Office be appointed as your attorney and will formally request a jury trial.  Although a date will not be set for your trial at this time, if you are in jail, your trial date is set within 30 days of your ARRAIGNMENT or within 45 days if you are not in jail.

    A plea of Guilty means that you are willing to take advantage of the prosecutor's offer. When you plead Guilty you will be immediately sentenced by the judge (with very few exceptions).

    A plea of 'No Contest' is almost identical to a Guilty plea.  The only difference is that a 'No Contest' plea cannot be used as evidence of civil liability in a civil case arising from the same incident.  The only time 'No Contest' pleas are entered is for cases in which property damage or personal injuries have occurred.  Often the prosecutor will not allow a 'No Contest' plea to an offer they have extended.

    For some charges you will be required to initial and sign a change of plea form.  Your public defender will explain this form to you. This form basically contains the terms of your agreement with the prosecutor and some other terms the court wants you to know.

4. The fourth purpose of ARRAIGNMENT is for the court to set future court dates for you to appear on your case.  As stated above, even when you plead Not Guilty to a charge, you must come back for at least one more court date (usually more).  Even if you plead Guilty or 'No Contest' to a charge you will most likely have a date set in the future to show proof of compliance with specific requirements of your sentence or probation.

    Following your ARRAIGNMENT the court will provide you with a pink piece of paper containing your future court dates and information about what occurred during your court appearance.  Never leave court without this piece of paper.

5. The fifth purpose of ARRAIGNMENT is to address the issue of bail.  If you are in jail at the time of ARRAIGNMENT, the public defender will argue to have your bail reduced or ask to release you without bail (on your own recognizance. or OR).  Remember, the judge is required to assume the charges against you are true for the purposes of setting bail.  The judge will consider factors such as the seriousness of the charges and whether you will return for your next court appearance.  If you have a parole hold or INS hold (immigration) the judge will not release you and you will not be able to "bail out" unless these holds are lifted.

    If you are not in jail at the time of your arraignment, it is unlikely the judge will set bail in your case.  In almost all cases the judge will allow you to remain out of jail for the duration of your case.

FIRST MEETING/CONVERSATION WITH YOUR ATTORNEY:

    The terms lawyer, attorney, and public defender can be used interchangeably. A public defender is a lawyer (attorney) that represents people that can not afford to hire one.

    If you have entered a plea of Not Guilty at your ARRAIGNMENT, your case is immediately sent to the Public Defender's Office where it is assigned to one of the attorneys in the office.  You should receive a call from your attorney within one week from your arraignment. If you do not speak to your attorney by this time, you should call the office at (619)338-4700 and ask to be transferred to the attorney assigned to your case.  Have your case number available.

    If you schedule an appointment to meet with your attorney, be sure to bring all documents, photographs, names, addresses and telephone numbers of witnesses and anything else that is relevant to your case. Since the time between arraignment and trial is only 45 days (if you are out of jail at the time of arraignment), it is very important to help your attorney prepare in the most time efficient way possible.  However, NEVER attempt to speak to the alleged victim in the case (if there is one).  Your attorney will make arrangements for an investigator to interview possible witnesses including the alleged victim.

    It is very important to stay in touch with this attorney and advise them of any address or phone number changes that occur during your case.If you forget your public defender's name, you should call the public defender general number: (619)338-4700. Remember that all public defenders have very busy court schedules and are usually in court between 8:15am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday. If you do not immediately receive a return call from your attorney, they will almost certainly return your call within a day.

TRIAL SETTING DEPARTMENT (TSD):

    If you did not plead Guilty or No Contest at your ARRAIGNMENT, your second court appearance will most likely be your readiness conference held in the TRIAL SETTING DEPARTMENT (TSD).  This is another opportunity to negotiate your case with the prosecutor. At this time they may make an offer to settle for a less serious charge or sentence.  Many times this offer is not any better than the offer at ARRAIGNMENT.  If you do not want to change your plea to Guilty or No Contest the court will set a date for a JURY TRIAL.

JURY TRIAL:

    This is the date that your case will go to trial.  You must appear in the Trial Setting Department (TSD) that morning to meet your attorney.  At this time the prosecutor may have one last offer for you to plead Guilty instead of going to trial.  This is unlikely however. Instead, your attorney will answer up "ready" for you to begin your JURY TRIAL.  The judge will ask your attorney very briefly about settlement and then he will send you to the third floor of the courthouse.

    You and your attorney will walk there together. That judge will send you to yet another courtroom.  However, that will be the where your trial will be held.

    Your trial will probably last for more than 1 day.  On the days following the first day of trial, your attorney will tell you what time to arrive in court the next day.  Make sure you understand when and where you must be every day.  Typically, after the first day of trial, you will return to the courtroom where your trial is being conducted.  When attending trial, be sure to dress your best.

VERY IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

    It is VERY IMPORTANT that you arrive on time to all of your court appearances.  Except in very unusual circumstances that you have specifically discussed with your attorney, you MUST appear at every court date.  If you are late or do not show up the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest.  If you are going to be late or cannot appear for some reason, you must call your attorney IMMEDIATELY.

    It is VERY IMPORTANT not talk to anyone except your attorney about your case.  If you talk to someone else about your case, even in the strictest confidence, the city attorney can call them as a witness against you.  If you feel you must talk to someone about your case, consult with your attorney first.

    It is VERY IMPORTANT to stay in contact with your attorney.  If you are in jail you can expect your attorney to visit you by video conference or in person.  However, you can always call your lawyer from jail.  If you wish to write a letter to your lawyer, be sure every page and every envelope is marked with the words "attorney-client privilege" so the guards do not read it.  The guards read all the mail you send out so be very careful if you decide to communicate with anyone from jail through the mail.  Remember not to talk to anyone about your case unless you have spoken to your attorney first.

    It is VERY IMPORTANT to comply with all of your terms of probation if you plead Guilty (or No Contest) to an offense or are found guilty by a jury.  If you do not stay current with probation requirements (for example you can not complete volunteer work by the date required) then you should try to get an earlier court date BEFORE your required date of completion. This will enable you to come to court and talk to the judge and an attorney about getting more time to comply.   You can do this by either going to the courthouse or calling the Public Defender's Office at (619)338-4700.

    If you are late paying a fine, the court will require you to pay a $300.00 civil assessment penalty.  There is virtually NO WAY out of this penalty once it is imposed, so DO NOT fall behind in your payments.  You must pay the exact amount of payment required when it is due.  The court will not accept a larger previous payment to satisfy a smaller subsequent payment.  If you think you will have a problem making a payment call your public defender to try to put yourself on the court calendar before you are late with a payment.