How Bail Works

The Criminal Case Process
Generally, when a person is arrested, the police officer submits an arrest report to the district attorney for review. If arrested, you should take the following steps: "Six Steps to Follow if Arrested: A Survival Guide". The DA will review the case and if he or she feels that the officer has sufficient proof of the crime, charges will be filed and the case will be ready for prosecution.

At this point, the defendant has five release options. Once released, he will have to appear in court for an arraignment (usually 2- 4 weeks from the date of release). If the defendant remains in custody, he will be transported to court by the county or city facility in which he is detained.

The Arraignment
In criminal cases the first appearance is the arraignment. The defendant will be asked to acknowledge his identity. The defendant may have private counsel present or the court may appoint a public defender. The defendant may be told his possible punishment.

Misdemeanors

• If charged with a misdemeanor the defendant is required to reply to the written charges with a plea of either guilty, not guilty or nolo contendere (no contest).  The judge will set the defendant's tentative appearance schedule. Bail is established according to the county's bail schedule. The defendant has a right to argue for a bail reduction. If the defendant pleads guilty at the arraignment, the judge may sentence him or her at that time.
• If the defendant does not plead guilty at the arraignment, a pre-trial conference will probably be scheduled at which time plea negotiations are discussed along with witnesses and strengths/weaknesses of the case.
• The next step is the trial (by judge or jury) at which pretrial motions and issues of fact are decided.
• If the defendant is found guilty the court will then impose a sentence on the defendant that could range form a fine, community service, counseling, jail time, a diversion program, substance abuse treatment, or a combination of these.

Felony Cases

• If charged with a felony, the defendant may or may not be required to reply with a plea at the initial arraignment. (The policy of presenting a plea at felony arraignment is different state-by-state).
• As a next step, the judge may set the defendant's preliminary hearing. (Not all states have preliminary hearings, some convene a grand jury to find probably cause.)
• As with misdemeanors, bail is established according to the county bail schedule. The defendant has a right to argue to bail reduction.
• At the preliminary hearing, the D.A. will show the court that there was probably cause to believe that a crime was committed and that eh defendant was the person who committed the crime. If the judge feels that there is enough preliminary evidence to proceed, then the defendant will be arraigned again and there will be a pre-trial conference at which time plea negotiations and discussions of the issues, witnesses and strengths and weaknesses.
• As with misdemeanors, the next step is trial by judge or jury where all of the pretrial motions and issues of fact are decided.  If the defendant is found guilty at the end of trial, then the judge would impose a sentence, usually much more severe than with a misdemeanor offense.