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• Bail


• Court hearings


• Sentencing


• If you are convicted

• Length of time in the community
• Family ties to the community
• Prior record or lack thereof
• Any failures to appear in court (including traffic tickets!)
• The nature of the charges
  

• An individual may post the entire amount of the bond with the court.  At the end of the case, assuming the individual made all required court appearances, the bond would be refunded in its entirety.
  
• You may post the bond through a bail bondsman.  The bondsman will charge 10% of the total bail as his fee and this will not be refundable.  It will be necessary in most cases to have collateral for the other 90% of the bond, as the bondsman will be putting his money up for you.
  
  Click here for a bail bondsman.
  
• You may post property that has equity at least two times the amount of the bail.   This is done in a written bail motion and the property will be tied up until the criminal case has been finalized.
  
  Please visit the "Bail" page for more information on Bail.

• Initial arraignment (plea of "not guilty")
  
• Bail review
  
• Plea bargaining
      At this hearing, your attorney, the district attorney and the judge sit down and try to work out a favorable disposition.  If an agreement is reached, a plea of guilty is entered and the case is continued for sentencing.  If the parties are unable to agree, the next hearing is the preliminary examination.
  
• Preliminary examination
      Here the district attorney will put on a shortened version of his case against you.  He/she will most likely not call all the witnesses in the case, as this is not a formal trial.  Although the defense has the opportunity to present its case, this is usually not done at this hearing.  You will also have the opportunity to cross examine any of the witnesses against you.
       A judge does not determine guilt or innocence and the burden of proof is not guilt beyond a reason of a doubt, like at trial.  At this hearing, the judge simply decides if he/she has a "strong suspicion" that a crime was committed and that you were involved in the commission of that crime.  Assuming that this burden is met, you are "bound-over" for trial.
  
• Arraignment
      Much like the initial court appearance, this again involves the formal statement of a "not guilty" plea and a denial as to any allegations. Also, all future court dates are assigned.
  Motions
       Depending on the facts of the case, certain motions may be filed, such as illegal search and seizure, discovery or motions to set aside the earlier judge's bound-over ruling.
  Plea bargaining
       Again, this appearance is similar to the earlier plea bargaining session. However, by this time the district attorney will have had ample time to evaluate the case.  Therefore, if the case appears stronger than originally thought, the offer may be worse than at the earlier plea bargaining session. On the other hand, if the evidence is not that strong, the offer may improve.
       Again, if the offer is accepted, a guilty plea is entered and the case is set for sentencing.  If the parties are unable to resolve the matter, it is set for trial.
  
• Trial
       A jury of twelve people is selected to hear the evidence in the case.  They must unanimously agree beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty in order to convict you.  There are cases, however, where it may be to one's advantage to waive trial by jury and have the evidence heard by the judge on the case.

• Appeal
  Again, the facts of each case must be examined to determine if one can bring an appeal and, if so, whether it would it have merit.
  
• Modification of sentence
  It is possible in some cases to come back before the sentencing judge and ask for modifications on some of the terms and conditions of probation.
  
• Expungement
  In some cases, after a person has successfully completed the terms and conditions of probation, it may be possible to appear before the court and have the conviction expunged from your record.