Overview of a Criminal Case
We offer the following general description of what happens in a federal criminal case to assist families and friends of our clients. It is not a substitute for legal advice. The attorney assigned to a particular case is the best source of information about the statutes, rules, and court decisions that govern a particular case.
A federal criminal case usually begins with an arrest. Occasionally federal law enforcement agents will question a suspect without making a formal arrest, but a federal court case does not officially begin until charges are filed by a federal prosecutor in federal district court.
If someone is arrested, they have a right to remain silent. Arresting officers are supposed to read these rights (known as Miranda rights) to the suspect. Miranda rights can be waived. It is occasionally in a suspect’s interest to waive these rights, but generally speaking, if you are accused of a crime it is a bad idea to talk to law enforcement without an attorney. Waiting for a lawyer’s advice is almost always the smart thing to do, as anything said to law enforcement is potentially admissible in court.
The first chance an accused person will have to go to court is called an Initial Appearance. This Initial Appearance is supposed to happen within 48 hours of the arrest. The first appearance before a judge will be before a federal magistrate judge. The Initial Appearance will be quick. At that appearance, the magistrate judge will first ask the defendant if he intends to retain a private attorney. If the defendant says that he cannot afford an attorney, the magistrate judge will ask him some questions about his assets and finances. If the magistrate judge finds that the person cannot afford an attorney, then the magistrate judge will appoint an attorney from the Federal Public Defender’s Office to represent the defendant. Sometimes the Federal Public Defender’s Office has a conflict of interest (maybe because we already represent another defendant or witness in the same case). In those cases, the federal magistrate judge will represent a court-paid private attorney (often called a “CJA Attorney”) to represent the defendant in the case.
Also at the initial appearance, the accused will receive a copy of the charge against him and/or have the charges read to him in open court. If an interpreter is needed, one will be provided by the court.
The federal magistrate judge holding the first appearance hearing calendars changes every week. You should call the Office of the Clerk of Courts to find out the exact start time and location for your first appearance. You can contact the Clerk’s Office at (305) 523-5100 in Miami-Dade County, (954) 769-5400 in Broward County, (561) 803-3400 in Palm Beach County, (772) 467-2300 in St. Lucie County, or (305)295-8100 in Key West.
Bail is usually decided at the Initial Appearance. Sometimes a lawyer will find it necessary to postpone a bail hearing for a few days in order to prepare for the bailing hearing and increase the chances of getting the client bailed. Bail can be agreed to or contested by the federal prosecutor, but the decision about whether to release someone on bail is up to the court.
Security for the bond can be cash, property, or the signatures of co-signers. Co-signers are people who stand up for the accused person in court, guaranteeing his return. If the client fails to show up for court then the government can hold the co-signers responsible for the full amount of the bond. If property, like a house or land, is used as security, the court generally requires that everyone on the deed for the property sign the bond.
Anyone planning to co-sign a bond should make every effort to come to the bond hearing. Anyone who comes to the bond hearing should know to come early enough to check in at the front desk, to bring current, government-issued picture identification, and to not bring in any cellular phones.
Before the bond hearing, a member of the Pretrial Services Office will interview the client. Everything said at that interview will go into a bail report for the court, prosecutor, and defense attorney. It is not a confidential interview and the defendant has a right to not answer any questions in this interview. The Pretrial Service Office makes a recommendation about bail to the court. The officer may call the friends or family members of the client to verify his background. If the court sets bail, there may be restrictions placed upon the client while the case is pending. These restrictions may include travel limitations, curfew, reporting to pretrial services, drug testing or treatment, mental health testing or treatment, and electronic monitoring, among others.
If while out on bail a client fails to obey the conditions set by the judge, he could be rearrested. The bail could be revoked and new charges could be brought based upon the violation of the bail conditions.
Once released on bail, a client must attend every court appearance. If the client does not appear, the judge can issue a warrant for arrest. It is important that the lawyer always know how to reach his or her client, and be advised of any changes in contact information.
The next step after the Initial Appearance is a formal charge, by either an Indictment or an Information. To get an Indictment, the federal prosecutor must present evidence to a Grand Jury. The Grand Jury determines whether there is probable cause to believe that the client has committed a federal crime, and if so it issues an Indictment outlining the charges. The Grand Jury proceedings are secret – the person being considered for charges does not have a right to listen in on the proceedings, present witnesses, or cross-examine the witnesses presented to the Grand Jury by the prosecutor. These proceedings are handled by the prosecutor and the only thing being decided by the Grand Jury is whether there is probable cause to charge the person with a federal crime. If the Grand Jury finds that there is probable cause to charge the person, then it issues an Indictment in the case, and the case will be randomly assigned to a district court judge.
On his or her attorney’s advice, a client may choose to give up the right to be indicted by a Grand Jury. If that happens, the charge will be brought in a document signed by the Assistant United States Attorney called an Information. An Information is also the document that is used to charge federal misdemeanors.
After the Indictment or Information, the next court appearance will be the Arraignment. At that hearing, the client is read or given a copy of the charge, enters a plea of not guilty, demands a jury trial, and requests that the government hand over its evidence.
An Arraignment is a very short court proceeding where the lawyer says a few words. The defendant is usually not asked to say anything. Such hearings are almost always handled by a federal magistrate judge. Once the defendant has been “arraigned,” the case will be handled mainly by the district judge randomly assigned to the case, and a trial date will be set.
After the arraignment and assignment of the case to a district court judge, an Assistant Federal Public Defender will work with the client to review the evidence and develop a strategy for the case.
The government’s evidence, often called “Discovery,” is usually handed over to the defense about 14 days after the Arraignment. Additional evidence or discovery will likely continue to come in over the life of the case.
Sometimes, after reviewing the discovery in the case, a lawyer will file pretrial motions. Depending upon the outcome of these pretrial motions, the client may decide to plead guilty or schedule a trial.
The most common pretrial motion is a motion to suppress evidence. If law enforcement agents took property as evidence, took statements, or had witnesses identify the accused, and the attorney believes that there is a good faith basis under the law for suppressing that evidence, the attorney may file a motion to suppress. The motion seeks to preclude illegally-obtained evidence from being offered by the prosecution at trial. The suppression hearing is held in open court and generally involves the presentation of live witnesses. The defense attorney can cross examine the government’s witnesses and present defense witnesses at the hearing.
If the judge finds that the law enforcement officers violated the law, the remedy may be suppression of the evidence at trial. If the judge finds no violations, then the evidence will be admissible at trial.
There are many other pretrial motions that may apply in any given case. These will be discussed between the lawyer and the client.
The time between the Arraignment and the trial date are spent helping the defendant decide whether to plead guilty or go to trial.
If no plea disposition is reached, the case will proceed to trial. This is usually done within two months from the Arraignment, but that trial date can be extended by the district court judge at the request of the government or defendant. The trial date is often extended to allow the parties to review discovery, file motions, and engage in plea discussions.
A Plea Agreement is never final until a judge reviews it and decides it is acceptable. Even if the judge accepts the agreement, however, he or she does not need to follow it. A plea agreement may contain an estimate of the sentence with which the judge disagrees. Even if the judge imposes a sentence different than what is in a written plea agreement, a client will usually not be permitted to withdraw his or her guilty plea.
Federal sentencing is very different than sentencing in state court. Unlike some state court systems, the federal system operates without certainty about what a sentence will be. In other words, a person will have to decide whether to plead guilty or go to trial without knowing in advance what the sentence is going to be. In general, the vast majority of pleas take place with only estimates about what the sentencing guidelines are. In order to accept the plea, the judge will spend about half an hour asking questions of the person to ensure that he or she understands the rights being relinquished by pleading guilty. If a person agrees to plead guilty there will be no trial.
The court will order a sentencing date, generally 70 days after the guilty plea. During that time, a member of the U.S. Probation Office will meet with the person and prepare a Presentence Investigation Report (or “PSI”). The Presentence Investigation Report will contain a recitation of the offense, a computation of the sentencing guidelines and the person’s background information, including family and employment information. If the sentence includes prison time the Presentence Investigation Report will be sent with the person to the Bureau of Prisons, so it is important that the information in the Report be accurate and complete. The attorney will send the client a copy of the report and if there are any errors in it, objections may be filed with the Probation Office. At sentencing the judge will decide whether to make the requested changes to the Report.
After a guilty plea, the next court appearance is the sentencing date. This is arguably the most important appearance in a criminal case. The attorney and client will have worked to prepare for sentencing and may, depending on the district judge’s preferences, file a sentencing memorandum outlining the mitigating factors that support a low sentence. It may also include letters and statements from family and friends, written in support of the defendant. Once sentenced, a person has a criminal record, even if the judge imposes no prison time.
There is generally a courtroom deputy who manages the judge’s caseload. There may also be legal interns or clerks who work for the judge who are present in court for court proceedings. There may be court interpreters and parties waiting for other cases. There is also a court reporter who records all the proceedings.
Occasionally federal criminal trials are tried before the judge. These are called bench trials. Both the defense and the prosecution must agree to waive a jury trial, and the judge must consent.
In the case of a jury trial, once the jury is selected the judge will swear them in and explain basic legal principals to them. The defendant will be present for all aspects of the trial. If a defendant is in custody when it comes to going to trial, his attorney will arrange for him to have appropriate clothes for the trial.
A trial begins with an opening statement by the prosecutor, telling the jury how he or she will prove the charges against the accused. The defense lawyer can then make an opening statement explaining why the anticipated evidence will not prove guilt.
After opening statements, the case then proceeds with presentation of evidence by the prosecution. Evidence typically consists of witnesses. Witnesses may also be used to introduce documents, demonstrative evidence, video or audio tapes, or any other evidence deemed admissible by the Court. If the defense lawyer objects the judge has to decide whether the Rules of Evidence or other legal considerations bar the introduction of the evidence. The defense lawyer may also object to certain questions. The judge has to decide to sustain or overrule the objections. “Sustained” means the objection is valid. “Overruled” means the objection is rejected. Sometimes attorneys will request or be asked to have a “side bar” conference so that legal matters can be discussed outside of the hearing of the jury.
A criminal defendant has no burden to put on any evidence. However, the attorney and client may decide to offer evidence and/or witnesses. The client must always decide whether he or she wants to testify or to remain silent. If silence is chosen, the jury will be instructed not to use that silence against him.
At the end of the case the prosecutor and defense attorney deliver closing arguments, or summations, to the jury. The prosecutor gives the opening summation, followed by the defense summation, and then a rebuttal by the prosecutor.
After the closing arguments, the judge will instruct the jury as to the relevant law. The jury then retires to deliberate. Their verdict must be unanimous. Occasionally, a jury cannot agree on a verdict. This is called a “hung jury.” In that instance, the judge may declare a mistrial and the prosecutor can retry the case.
If at the end of jury deliberations the jury announces a “not guilty” verdict, the defendant is acquitted and will be released immediately assuming no other charges are pending and there is not a detainer holding him in custody (such as an immigration hold, a probation violation hold from a state court, or hold based on a pending state case).
If the verdict is guilty the district court judge that presided over the trial will schedule the sentencing date in the case, which will usually be about 70 days after the trial.
Generally if the client was in custody during the trial he will he will remain in jail to await sentencing. If he was out on bail and is convicted, he is sometimes remanded to custody following the verdict.
After trial, an attorney may make a motion to set aside the decision of the jury. The judge may then dismiss the charges or order a new trial.
As is the case after a guilty plea, following a guilty verdict the Probation Office will prepare a Presentence Investigation Report. The same considerations apply as discussed above.
If a client was found guilty of more than one charge the Judge will usually have the discretion whether to run the sentences concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after the other). There are certain charges that must be run consecutively and the judge will have no choice on these. In addition to any prison time imposed, the sentence will include an order to pay a special court fee called a special assessment, which is now set at $100 per count of conviction. The judge may also order restitution (to pay back victims of the crime) and a separate fine. The sentence may also include conditions such as drug/mental health treatment or community service, to name a few. If no prison time is imposed, the court may order a term of probation with certain conditions (again, travel restrictions, drug or mental health treatment, etc.).
In addition to a prison term, the district court judge will order a term of Supervised Release to begin upon completion of the term of imprisonment. Supervised Release works similarly to Probation in that the defendant will be assigned a supervising probation officer and have conditions that he or she must follow.
If the client is out on bail at the time of sentencing the attorney can seek voluntary surrender to the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons. Voluntary surrender is not a matter of right, but if the judge permits it, the person will have the opportunity to turn himself in on a designated day, usually within about six weeks following the sentencing. If the surrender is to the designated institution he must travel to the institution on his or her own rather than while in the custody of the United States Marshal, and must pay his own travel expenses.
An appeal is a request to a higher court to review possible errors made at the trial or on motions. After sentencing, the client has a right to appeal the sentence or conviction or both, unless there was a waiver of that right in plea agreement. Even after a guilty plea there may be certain questions that are appealable. A notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days of the judgment.
The appeal will be decided by a panel of three judges appointed to decide appeals. During the appeals process the defendant still has a right to court-appointed counsel, so an appellate lawyer will be assigned if the defendant cannot afford to hire one.
If the appellate court finds no error in the trial court’s decision, the sentence or conviction is affirmed, and the appeal has been lost. There is a limited right to petition for further review to the United States Supreme Court. Most such petitions are denied. The United States Supreme Court reviews an extremely small number of cases each year.
There is a limited right to bail pending appeal, but these requests are rarely granted.
In some very limited circumstances there may be grounds for attacking a conviction even after the final sentence and appeal. These circumstances can be discussed with the assigned Assistant Federal Public Defender.