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getting charged with a crime...the process
How People Get Charged With Crimes
Learn how police officers and prosecutors initiate criminal cases.
To be "charged" with a crime means to be formally accused of that crime. Police officers usually start the charging process with an arrest or citation. They then send copies of their reports to a prosecutor's office staffed by government lawyers whose job it is to initiate and prosecute criminal cases. The prosecutor is supposed to either:
make an independent decision as to what charges should be filed, or
in felony cases, enlist the help of citizens serving as grand jurors in deciding what charges to file.
Prosecutors can look at all the circumstances of a case, including the suspect's past criminal record. They can file charges on all crimes for which the police arrested a suspect, can file charges that are more or less severe than the charges leveled by the police, or can decide to not file any charges at all.
For suspects who are in custody, speedy trial laws typically require prosecutors to file charges, if at all, within 72 hours of arrest. Some jurisdictions require prosecutors to charge a suspect even sooner. For example, California requires that charges be filed within 48 hours. (Cal. Penal Code Sec. 825.) However, prosecutors' initial charging decisions are subject to change. For example, a prosecutor's final decision on charges may not be determined until after a preliminary hearing, which may take place more than a month after arrest.
Typically, prosecutors base their initial charging decisions on the documents sent to them by the arresting police officers (usually called police or arrest reports). Arrest reports summarize the events leading up to arrests and provide numerous other details, such as dates, time, location, weather conditions and witnesses' names and addresses if that information is available. Prosecutors May Also File Charges to Satisfy Important Political Constituencies and Address the Demands of Victims
Most prosecutors are elected officials. Many of them view their position as a stepping-stone to higher office. Their charging decisions are often, therefore, affected by public opinion or important support groups. For example, a prosecutor may file charges on every shoplifting case, no matter how weak, to curry favor with local store owners who want to get the word out that shoplifters will be prosecuted. For similar reasons, a prosecutor may pursue otherwise weak prostitution charges to avoid alienating powerful civic groups. On the other hand, crimes are offenses perpetrated against society, and, as a representative of society, many prosecutors will act in accordance with what they think society as a whole society wants and deserves.
Deputy or assistant prosecutors may feel that appearing tough will help their careers -- either within the prosecutor's office or later if they want to become judges. Experienced defense attorneys understand that prosecutors must sometimes be seen as "taking a strong stand" publicly, even though they may be willing to respond to weaknesses in individual cases at a later stage of the process.
Prosecutors often consider a victim's views when deciding whether to file a criminal charge, or how serious a charge to file. This is especially true when organized constituencies of crime victims exist. Organized groups often pressure prosecutors to "go hard" on certain types of crimes, on pain of campaigning against the prosecutor at the next election. For example, groups of "spousal assault victims" have formed in many communities. A prosecutor deciding whether to file a spousal assault charge, or whether to file it as a misdemeanor or a felony, is likely to consider the reactions both of the group and of the individual victim. Another example of this community-based pressure is the effect that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) has historically had on the willingness of most prosecutors to vigorously prosecute drunk driving cases.
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The Big Hungarian
How People Get Charged With Crimes
Learn how police officers and prosecutors initiate criminal cases.
To be "charged" with a crime means to be formally accused of that crime. Police officers usually start the charging process with an arrest or citation. They then send copies of their reports to a prosecutor's office staffed by government lawyers whose job it is to initiate and prosecute criminal cases. The prosecutor is supposed to either:
make an independent decision as to what charges should be filed, or
in felony cases, enlist the help of citizens serving as grand jurors in deciding what charges to file.
Prosecutors can look at all the circumstances of a case, including the suspect's past criminal record. They can file charges on all crimes for which the police arrested a suspect, can file charges that are more or less severe than the charges leveled by the police, or can decide to not file any charges at all.
For suspects who are in custody, speedy trial laws typically require prosecutors to file charges, if at all, within 72 hours of arrest. Some jurisdictions require prosecutors to charge a suspect even sooner. For example, California requires that charges be filed within 48 hours. (Cal. Penal Code Sec. 825.) However, prosecutors' initial charging decisions are subject to change. For example, a prosecutor's final decision on charges may not be determined until after a preliminary hearing, which may take place more than a month after arrest.
Typically, prosecutors base their initial charging decisions on the documents sent to them by the arresting police officers (usually called police or arrest reports). Arrest reports summarize the events leading up to arrests and provide numerous other details, such as dates, time, location, weather conditions and witnesses' names and addresses if that information is available. Prosecutors May Also File Charges to Satisfy Important Political Constituencies and Address the Demands of Victims
Most prosecutors are elected officials. Many of them view their position as a stepping-stone to higher office. Their charging decisions are often, therefore, affected by public opinion or important support groups. For example, a prosecutor may file charges on every shoplifting case, no matter how weak, to curry favor with local store owners who want to get the word out that shoplifters will be prosecuted. For similar reasons, a prosecutor may pursue otherwise weak prostitution charges to avoid alienating powerful civic groups. On the other hand, crimes are offenses perpetrated against society, and, as a representative of society, many prosecutors will act in accordance with what they think society as a whole society wants and deserves.
Deputy or assistant prosecutors may feel that appearing tough will help their careers -- either within the prosecutor's office or later if they want to become judges. Experienced defense attorneys understand that prosecutors must sometimes be seen as "taking a strong stand" publicly, even though they may be willing to respond to weaknesses in individual cases at a later stage of the process.
Prosecutors often consider a victim's views when deciding whether to file a criminal charge, or how serious a charge to file. This is especially true when organized constituencies of crime victims exist. Organized groups often pressure prosecutors to "go hard" on certain types of crimes, on pain of campaigning against the prosecutor at the next election. For example, groups of "spousal assault victims" have formed in many communities. A prosecutor deciding whether to file a spousal assault charge, or whether to file it as a misdemeanor or a felony, is likely to consider the reactions both of the group and of the individual victim. Another example of this community-based pressure is the effect that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) has historically had on the willingness of most prosecutors to vigorously prosecute drunk driving cases.
__________________
__________________
The Big Hungarian