Were you or a loved one recently criminally arrested? Do you want to figure out how to handle a criminal arrest? Give me a call, I’m an experienced lawyer who helps people with their criminal arrests.
A criminal arrest is the most common way a person experiences the world of criminal defense attorneys. Not every arrest ends up with a crime being charged. There are two common experiences caused by criminal arrests: The experience of the person who is arrested on suspicion of a crime and the experience of the people who are concerned about them. That means partners, parents and sometimes friends.
The ThreeTypes of Arrest: Overnight, Seventy Two Hours and Arraignment
There are three types of arrests grouped by the length of the arrest and whether the individual is released or not. All arrests share some features: A person is transported to a jail facility and “booked” into that facility until they are released. They can be released by law enforcement (overnight), held for up to seventy two hours and then released or held until they are presented to Court, called an “arraignment.” For many arrests, the individual is allowed to post a bond to be released until Court.
The vast majority of arrests are overnight. A common example is being arrested for a crime like driving under the influence or domestic violence. The day after, the individual is released, usually because of a blanked policy by the facility to release certain categories of prisoners based on the crime. Individuals arrested in this fashion will be given a future court date, but that does not mean they will be charged with a crime on that date.
For more serious cases, where there is no category of automatic release after a night in jail, an individual can be held for up to three days. If the Prosecutor decides not to file charges at that time, the person is released. In these situations a bond will usually be set, allowing the arrested person to bail out before the end of three days.
The most serious criminal arrests end with the arrested person appearing in Court for a first court appearance, called an Arraignment. At this hearing, the arrested person will either hire a lawyer OR have a Public Defender appointed. The Prosecutor has an opportunity to raise the bail amount and the arrested person (now a defendant) has the right to make their own argument for bail. Cases that make it this far often require the involvement of friends and family while the arrested person sits in jail.
Everyone has questions about the consequences of a criminal arrest. I can answer those questions as a lawyer who helps you with criminal arrests.