The Alternative Press

I thought it would be appropriate to continue my guest column by explaining all those legal criminal law terms you hear on Law and Order, in the news, movies and everyday life. You sometimes hear these terms and you really do not know what they mean. The purpose of this column is to break down step by step the stages of a criminal case in New Jersey and describe how it proceeds through the courts. By the end of this article you will understand and can share with others what happens from an Arrest all the way through a Plea or a Trial.

The first stage of the Criminal Case Process is the Arrest stage. The Police have the authority to arrest when they have probable cause to believe that a crime is being or has been committed. Usually at this stage the defendant is taken to the local police station, photographed and fingerprinted.

The next stage is the Complaint. Here the police officer prepares a complaint. The complaint is a document that explains what the offense is and charges the defendant with the crime. If there is no bail on the case and it is not a major crime, then the complaint will contain the next court date and where the defendant is to appear.

Then comes the Grand Jury phase. Here the State presents its evidence in front of 23 people to try and secure an indictment. The prosecutor will have witnesses give sworn testimony in front of the grand jury. During the presentation, the prosecutor should present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury when such evidence clearly negates the guilt of the defendant. The prosecutor will then read the law to the grand jury and explain to them that they need to make a decision on which charges they wish to indict the defendant on and which charges the wish to not indict or "No Bill". Sometimes lawyers have their clients testify at grand jury if they believe that will help them receive a "No Bill" for their client. A defense lawyer is not present in the grand jury but can stand outside the grand jury room if their client has any questions while the state is questioning them. Twelve or move grand jurors are needed to vote to obtain an indictment. The clerk of the Grand Jury records the votes.

The next stage is the Indictment. The County Prosecutor's Office now prepares a document indicating the essential facts constituting the crime charged. It includes the specific New Jersey statute that the defendant violated and it usually contains dates of when the alleged crime occurred.

The next stage is the Arraignment on the Indictment. Here is the stage where your attorney has already received your discovery, which are the police reports and other documents that is evidence against the defendant. At this stage, the defendant is before a Judge in Superior Court. The Judge reads to the defendant the specific charges the state has charged him with. The Judge asks if he understand the charges. The defendant's lawyer usually enters a plea of not guilty. He also will acknowledge to the court that he has received and or reviewed his client's discovery. If his defendant was on a bail, then at this time the defense lawyer will ask that the bail status be continued.

During all the above stages at anytime the defendant's case could be remanded to Municipal Court, A defense attorney can speak to the prosecutor and point out that the matter is not as serious as alleged and ask that the matter be remanded to the lower court, if the facts warrant that remand. Also a client can apply to Pre-Trial Intervention or PTI if he or she has no prior criminal record or diversions. This is available to defendants who are first offenders and are charged with non violent crimes and crimes where there is no distribution of drugs. It is an unsupervised probation, usually one to three years. While in PTI you must not receive any new charges and stay offense-free for the time of PTI. If you stay offense-free then at the completion of PTI, the original charges are dismissed and you have no record of conviction.

If the defendant's case is not remanded to municipal court, they do not get accepted into PTI and the next step is a Status Conference. At this time the State has already made a plea offer to the defense. A plea offer is an offer by the State to what they believe your client should plead to, time in jail if needed and other conditions of the plea. If the defendant does not wish to plead guilty to the plea then at this appearance a defense attorney will ask for a more favorable plea offer. The defense attorney will point out weaknesses in the State's case, discuss the likelihood of winning certain motions and try to resolve the matter.

If the matter is not resolved the next step is further plea negotiations. In some counties in New Jersey the Judge might get involved in resolving the case at this stage. If the case is resolved then a plea is put through. The defendant must say on the record, in open court, to a Judge what he did and that he is guilty of the offense he is pleading to. He then will come back to court on a different day to be sentenced. During this time, he will be evaluated by a probation officer and that officer will write a report, called a pre-sentence report, indicating to the judge the criminal history and background of the defendant. The defense attorney receives a copy of this report and goes over it with his client. A defense attorney will argue at sentencing for his client and sometimes prepare a sentencing brief addressing the Aggravating Factors in the case and Mitigating Factors. Also this is the time for a defendant to present character letters to the judge. The judge listens and makes a decision regarding his or her sentence.

If the matter is not resolved, than a case would proceed to trial. All motions have been exhausted and discovery is now complete. After a trial, a jury decides whether a defendant committed the crimes alleged or did not. At the end of the trial the judge reads the specific charges or elements of the crime that must be found to find him or her guilty. If a jury cannot find an element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt then the jury must find the defendant not guilty.

If anyone has any questions regarding the stages of a criminal case please feel free to call my law office at 732-249-9933. My web site contains useful information about Criminal Law, DWI and Municipal Court www.ebm-law.com. Also I have a twitter account in which I post changes to the laws in NJ, interesting articles on current legal matters in the newspaper and other helpful information. I can be followed on twitter at www.twitter.com/lawebmorrell