The Prosecutor That First Views the Case Makes an Initial Determination of the Level of the Charge
Lisa Pelosi: When the case comes in the initial prosecutor who writes up the complaint will make an early determination if the case is a felony or a misdemeanor. In New York State, felonies are more serious crimes and as such punishment is more severe. Misdemeanors are still crimes, but their punishment is less than felonies.
In Felony Cases, the Defense Attorney Will Make a Concerted Effort to Have the Charge Reduced to a Misdemeanor
One of the things that a good criminal defense attorney does is to try to convince the prosecutor to charge the misdemeanor or reduce a case to be a misdemeanor rather than the felony. Because once a case is a felony, you want to try to prevent the case from going to Supreme Court.
Felony Cases May Be Tried in Supreme Court and Are Subject to Greater Penalties
Because once we’re in Supreme Court then your client is subject to a greater sentencing. During the initial phase in the case, it’s very important for client that the attorney advocates on their behalf.
For example, I had a case recently where someone hit someone and left the scene of a crime, and they hired me right in the beginning of the case. I told the prosecutor, “Let’s slow the case down. Don’t go into the grand jury. Let’s work together.” In the end, because of that move, the case was ultimately dismissed by the court.
It is Advisable to Retain an Attorney as Early as Possible So They Can Immediately Advocate on Your Behalf
This brings to mind a good point to mention. I think when someone is arrested, they wait too long to hire an attorney. During the initial process, it’s very important to have an attorney, because so much goes on there, such as trying to convince a prosecutor to keep the case as a misdemeanor and not sending it to Supreme Court.
The Course of Events from Arrest through Resolution of a Criminal Case
Interviewer: As the last question, what are the common events that happen once you’re arrested and through the resolution of your case? What are the names of these events?
After a Felony or Misdemeanor Arrest, the Individual Appears in Court for the First Appearance, Which Is the Arraignment
Lisa Pelosi: First there’s an arrest, and when someone is arrested, the first time they see a judge is the arraignment, and at the arraignment charges are read to the individual and bail is set. Once that happen, you are then after that, if it’s a felony, you would have to deal with grand jury proceedings.
Felony Charges Proceed to a Grand Jury to Decide If the Case Goes to Supreme Court
The Grand Jury is the process where someone’s case gets sent to determine if the case will be sent to Supreme Court. When someone is in Supreme Court, there’s another arraignment, and then the case will continue until completion by a plea bargain, or by trial, or dismissal.
Misdemeanors Must Be Prosecuted within a Specific Time Frame or Are Subject to Being Dismissed
Interviewer: What about just for a misdemeanor case?
Lisa Pelosi: The individual is arraigned and the prosecutor is keeping the charge as a misdemeanor. The prosecutor has a finite amount of time to be ready on the misdemeanor.
A good criminal defense attorney will carefully watch the time to see if the prosecutors are ready, all the time with an eye towards getting a dismissal if they’re not ready.
