Is a witness statement enough to convict3/10/2024 Within 24 hours of the arrest, the defendant must be taken before a Judge or Commissioner for an Initial Appearance (IA). When a suspect is arrested either at the scene of the crime or as a result of an arrest warrant, he or she is taken to jail and "booked," or registered in the criminal justice system as having committed a specific offense. If the Grand Jury delivers an indictment, a judge may issue either a summons ordering the defendant to appear in court or an arrest warrant authorizing law enforcement agencies to arrest the defendant. The Grand Jury may also issue an indictment alleging charges other than those recommended by the prosecutor, or determine that there is insufficient evidence to support any charges at all. If the Grand Jury determines that there is sufficient evidence that a suspect committed a crime and should be tried on specific charges, the jurors will formalize these findings by issuing an indictment (sometimes referred to as a "true bill"). In addition to - and sometimes in lieu of - filing a direct complaint, a prosecutor may formally charge a suspect by presenting evidence to a Grand Jury comprised of at least nine citizens selected at random. The judge may also issue an arrest warrant if there is reason to believe the offender will not voluntarily appear in court at the scheduled time. A judge reviews each complaint to determine if there is enough evidence to sign it and issue a summons ordering the alleged offender to appear at a preliminary hearing to be formally notified of the charges that have been filed. Both of these methods constitute a formal filing of criminal charges.Ī direct complaint is a document prepared by the prosecutor which specifies the felony offense(s) the defendant is alleged to have committed. If the prosecutor believes the report provides sufficient evidence to indicate that the alleged offender has committed a crime and that the case has a reasonable likelihood of a conviction at a trial, the prosecutor will file a direct complaint and/or seek a Grand Jury indictment. If the prosecutor believes that the law enforcement agency's report does not provide sufficient evidence to justify filing of criminal charges, he or she may return the report to the submitting agency for more investigation (or "further" the report), decline to prosecute ("not file"), or refer the case to a prosecutorial agency in another jurisdiction for review. Once their investigation is complete, law enforcement officers may either arrest a suspect if they believe there is sufficient probable cause, or submit their findings to the County Attorney's Office for review by a prosecutor. Detectives may contact witnesses for formal statements, may obtain additional physical evidence as well as descriptions of suspects or stolen property. If suspects are not arrested at the scene, the patrol officer's incident report may be channeled to detectives within the law enforcement agency for further investigation. If police believe that a suspect has been identified and that there is sufficient evidence that the suspect has committed a crime (a finding known as "probable cause"), the suspect may be arrested immediately. In certain felony cases, such as homicides or vehicular collisions involving serious injuries or death, a Deputy County Attorney may come to the crime scene to assist officers with legal issues in the investigation. Police Detectives and crime scene investigators may also respond if there is a need to take special photographs of the scene or the victim, record possible fingerprints, or gather additional evidence. After first assisting anyone who may need medical attention, the patrol officer will interview the victim(s) and any witness(es) and compile a report describing the crime. When a crime is reported to a law enforcement agency, a patrol officer travels to the scene to investigate. Most misdemeanor offenses are handled by municipal prosecutors cases involving minors under the age of 18 are referred to the juvenile court system. The following is a brief description of the process to prosecute an adult accused of committing a felony offense.
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