Felonies

The U.S. has the highest rate of conviction and imprisonment of any industrialized nation.

Felony crimes are serious offenses punishable by a heavy sentence. The punishment is usually imprisonment, but in certain murder cases, the punishment could be death.

A felony crime more serious crimes than misdemeanors. However, the same offense could be
considered either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on its degree. Some examples of
common felonies are rape, child molest, child physical abuse, grand theft, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, and some drug offenses.

If you are convicted of a felony you will lose many of your civil rights. You will not be eligible to
vote and you will not be eligible to run for public office. Some jobs will require certain bonding or
insurance coverage before you can obtain the job. Many insurance companies will refuse to bond
convicted felons and, therefore, even though you are not barred by law from certain jobs, you
may find it difficult to obtain the job because of insurance or other requirements.

Helping a person who is charged with a felony crime requires specialized experience in order to
protect that person from the overwhelming power of the government. The defense of a criminal
case is a team effort: you and your attorney are that team.

Bail / O.R. (Own Recognizance)
Choosing an attorney before you are charged with a crime will lessen the trauma of being
arrested in your home or place of employment and transported to jail. Often an attorney can
arrange for you to surrender voluntarily to the police and to go through the booking and bail procedure without having to spend any time in jail.

If you do not make bail at the time of your arrest, your lawyer can make a motion to have bail
reduced or for you to be released on your written promise to appear, referred to as an
O.R. release.

What happens at arraignment?
At the arraignment you are again advised of your constitutional rights and the charges against
you. These charges can vary from the original charges. At this time you enter a plea.

In most jurisdictions, your arraignment will be your first appearance in court whether or not you
are in custody. At arraignment, your attorney will usually receive the police reports on your
case and any additional evidence that the prosecutor has in his or her possession. Your criminal
defense lawyer will also receive a formal complaint which states the charges that have been filed
against you. It is important to note that the charges may be different than those for which you
were arrested. While the police can arrest you for one pair of charges, the prosecutor's office
may disagree and file a completely different set of charges if they feel the facts warrant.

In most jurisdictions, your next date in court will be the pretrial conference. At the pretrial conference, important motions can be argued that can affect your case.

Defense Investigations
The defense investigation is your attorney's most powerful tool, and his contacts with
professional investigators will determine what favorable defense evidence can be located to
present at trial. You cannot rely on the police to interview all witnesses or search for evidence
favorable to your defense.

Motions
A case can be won or lost before it ever goes to trial depending on how well your attorney can
control inflammatory and prejudicial information from being used against you through the use
of legal motions.

Legal motions can be presented to exclude highly prejudicial evidence, to include your theory
of the defense, to suppress illegally seized evidence, to suppress illegally taken statements, to
dismiss the case because the statute of limitations has expired, for discovery of evidence held
by the prosecution, or to dismiss the case because the police have lost or destroyed evidence.
There are literally hundreds of possible motions that can be made in order to protect your rights.

Pretrial Hearing
The skill, experience and reputation of your attorney is crucial in attaining the most advantageous
position for you and your case at this stage. At the pretrial hearing, negotiations are conducted
with the District Attorney to dismiss or reduce the charges based upon the damage the defense
investigation has done to the prosecution's case.

When plea bargaining and sentence bargaining are conducted, your attorney's reputation and the
defense investigation will determine what kind of proposal the prosecution will make. Your attorney
can advise you if the offer is best for you in light of the circumstances, but only you can accept
or decline the offer. If your attorney is not a tough negotiator and a tough trial attorney, he may
encourage you to accept an inappropriate plea bargain because he does not want to go to trial.

If you plea bargain to a felony, the case is transferred to a Superior Court Sentencing Judge for
sentencing. If you plea bargain to a misdemeanor, the Judge who took the plea handles the
sentencing. Only in rare situations can a plea be withdrawn.

Readiness Conference
At the readiness conference, your attorney can advise the judge that the defense is ready for
the preliminary hearing or needs a continuance for more preparation. Typically evidence and
witness lists are exchanged. Motions are made and outstanding procedural issues are resolved.

Preliminary Hearing
The preliminary hearing is the first real opportunity for your attorney to refute the State's
evidence against you before going to trial. At the preliminary hearing, "hearsay" (any out of court
statement) is inadmissible. Therefore, the alleged victim may not take the stand; rather, the
police officer who took the report may take the stand and say what that victim would say if called
to testify. At the preliminary hearing, the judge will determine whether or not there is probable
cause to believe that a crime has been committed and if so, whether or not the defendant
committed that crime.

The standard of proof at a preliminary hearing is quite low and it is unusual to win outright a
preliminary hearing.

The preliminary hearing is like a mini trial. The prosecution must present only enough evidence
to show that there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed and that you
committed it. This preview of the prosecution's case is invaluable in preparing for trial. If the
judge finds reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed and you may have committed
it, you are bound over to Superior Court for trial. If the judge finds there is no reasonable
suspicion, the case is dismissed at this stage.

Additional Motions
The same legal motions referred to earlier can be heard, plus additional ones. If the Preliminary
Hearing Judge has made errors in the preliminary hearing, your attorney may file a motion to
correct those errors. Motions to exclude or include evidence at trial are also filed.

Finally, your defense attorney must construct your case so that if evidence favorable to your
defense is suppressed or the Superior Court Judge makes errors during the trial, your case can
be appealed should you be convicted. This process begins with the motions filed during trial.

Expert Witnesses
Some cases need expert witnesses to educate the jury to your defense theory. They might include
psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, experts in fingerprinting, ballistics, accident reconstruction,
or forensics. Your attorney's contacts are crucial for hiring professionals with the best experience,
reputation and ability to testify in court.

Readiness Conference
At the readiness conference three things can happen: you and your attorney may enter into plea
or sentencing bargaining; the case is announced ready for trial; or a continuance is granted for
further preparation.

Jury Trial
After the jury is seated, your criminal defense lawyer will argue whatever motions are required in
order to secure you a fair trial. After those motions are heard, the trial will commence. The
prosecution will give an opening statement. Your attorney can give an opening statement either at
that time or reserve opening statement until after the prosecution's case is over.

After the opening statement, the prosecution will present its evidence in the form of physical and
scientific evidence and expert and lay witnesses. Your attorney will have the opportunity to cross
examine each of those witnesses.

Once the prosecution rests the case, your criminal defense lawyer will put on your case, calling
any helpful witnesses to the stand. These witnesses can include percipient witnesses who watched
or viewed the event. After your attorney finishes his or her case, the prosecution has an
opportunity to put on rebuttal evidence. Once all the evidence is closed, the prosecutor and
your attorney will give a closing argument to the jury. Your criminal defense lawyer will focus
on reasonable doubt and the facts of your case.

The prosecution must prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and twelve out of twelve jurors
must vote "guilty" in order to convict you. Similarly, a jury must vote unanimously that you are
"not guilty" for an acquittal. A split vote is called a hung jury and the case must be retried unless
further negotiations ensue.

Sentencing Hearing
If you are found guilty or you agree to plea bargain, you will have a sentencing hearing. That
hearing is crucial because it can mean the difference between probation or county jail. Your
defense can present witnesses, evidence, and even a "defense probation report" to help protect
you. Remember, even if the battle of a trial is lost, the war can still be won at sentencing.

If you are guilty of a crime, the sentencing hearing is the entire war. Your attorney must not only
be a good trial attorney, but must be expert at persuading the judge to give you a favorable sentence. Additional factors are considered by the judge as either mitigating or aggravating circumstances and may decrease or increase the severity of the sentence.

Probation Violations
If you violate a condition of your probation, the judge can re-sentence you up to the full term in
prison. You have no right to a jury trial in a probation violation hearing. The judge must decide
if it has been shown by a preponderance of the evidence that you violated a condition of
probation. If you are found in violation of probation, a new sentencing hearing is held.

Appealing a guilty verdict
In a criminal law trial, the defendant has the right to appeal if he or she loses at the trial level.
To appeal the findings of the judge or jury, the defendant must generally file a written notice of
appeal within thirty days of the decision; however, this deadline may vary from state to state.

The Advantage of Using a Certified Criminal Law Specialist
The California State Bar has developed a program to distinguish attorneys as "Certified Criminal
Law Specialists." To qualify, an attorney must meet rigid standards of work experience and
specialized education. Only after several years of practice may an attorney apply to take a
second, one-day bar examination that tests his knowledge exclusively in criminal law, and after
passing that exam, does the attorney become state certified in this specialty.

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