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After you are accused of committing a crime and have been arrested, the police officer will fill out a report which summarizes what has happened leading up to your arrest along with other important information such as witness’s names and other information relevant to your case. To protect the witnesses, you will not usually get to see a copy of the report though your lawyer will.

Next, the prosecutor will consider pressing charges and what whether to charge you with a felony or a misdemeanor crime. He/she will need to decide to change you on all or just some of the accusations that was filed in the police report. This will need to be filed within 48 hours of the arrest. The 48 hours does not include holiday, weekend or mandatory court closures.

When a person (called the defendant) is arrested they will promptly take them to jail, often in handcuffs.

Once in jail, 1 of 3 things happen:

-The defendant remains behind bars and law enforcement officers will take the accused to their arraignment hearing in court,
-The defendant may be released if the prosecutor decides not to prosecute or file charges. This prosecutor is often times the district attorney or an attorney representing the city, or
-The defendant is released with a promise to return to court for the arraignment at a later date or if the defendant makes bail. If either of these happen the police or district attorney will give them the dates to appear for their upcoming arraignment.

To get more information, contact the Top Criminal Defense Attorney for Orange County to help you with your case at 714-655-3747.

If you are being harassed by someone who is not close to you, such as a neighbor, roommate, coworker, stranger or general acquaintance, you can file for a civil harassment restraining order. This order will help protect you from stalking, harassment, threats to avoid further harm to the victim. Harassment can be described as any action that frightens you and threatens your safety, physically injure you, annoys you that is done purposely to cause harm.

For information about how to protect yourself and file for a restraining order, call the offices of the Top Personal Injury Attorney for Orange County at 714-655-3747.

When you are stopped by a traffic officer, they will ask for your driver’s license, car’s registration, and your proof of insurance. They may even ask you to step out of the car. For a traffic infraction, the officer will write up a ticket and ask you to sign it. This ticket is called a ‘Notice to Appear’ and in signing it does NOT admit guilt. It in fact means that you are promising to appear in court to contest the ticket or pay the fine. If you produce all the proper ID and sign the Notice to Appear ticket, you will probably not have to go to jail.

Each traffic infraction could cost you $435 or more.

If you are caught by photo either at a red light or at a railroad-grade crossing, you will receive a notice in the mail about how to proceed with your ticket.

If you plead guilty, you won’t have to go to court but you will have to pay the fine by mail, or go to traffic school. If you pay the fine, you will get points on your driving record and your car’s insurance might increase in cost. If you want to contest the ticket but do not what to appear in court, you can have a trail by mail which is also called a trial by written declaration.

If you decide to neither pay the ticket nor appear in court, your license may be suspended and you might be charged with a misdemeanor and the courts may issue a warrant for your arrest.

For more information on your rights, contact the Criminal Law Attorney for Orange County at 714-655-3747.

If you don’t go to court or pay the fine, your license can be suspended and the court can charge you with a misdemeanor and issue a warrant for your arrest.

To begin cleaning up your criminal record, you must first find out what is on your record. Whether you are requesting a dismissal or a Certificate of Rehabilitation, you will need to fill out forms and for these you will need to know the details of your convictions. Several things you will need to know would be:

-Your Case Number(s) [Also called a docket number]
-Your Date(s) of Conviction(s) [The date of your plea or verdict]
-The Code Name(s) and Section Number(s) you were convicted of violating.
-Was there a “Verdict” or did you “Enter a Plea”? If you Entered a Plea, was it “Guilty” or “Nolo Contendere” (No Contest)?
-Were you ordered to serve any time on “Probation”? If so, how long? [Formal and informal probation are treated the same]
-Were you ordered to pay any fines, restitution, or reimbursement?
-If you were sentenced to state prison, which one and what date were you released?
-If you were released on “Parole,” what date did your parole end?

For more information please contact the Criminal Defense Lawyer in Orange County Thomas Connor for a consultation at 714- 655-3747.