Learn About Criminal Charges
Criminal charges are formal allegations of illegal conduct, laid out in writing and presented to the court. An arrest or a grand jury indictment (in serious felony matters) marks the filing of a charge. And while the police have no authority to press charges, their reports usually form the basis for criminal charges filed by the prosecutor. Charges initiate the adjudicatory process, a legal system that guarantees procedural safeguards to people accused of crime: To secure the protections the legal system affords, an accused must understand the criminal charges against them. Knowing the difference between a felony or a misdemeanor is important. Felonies kick off when a grand jury formally adopts an indictment (usually before the police make an arrest). Misdemeanors, on the other hand, begin when the police arrest someone in the commission of a misdemeanor offense. The next step in the adjudication of any misdemeanor or felony case is an arraignment – a court appearance where the defendant is formally charged with a crime. This usually happens within days of the arrest. Those who aren’t indicted can expect to be arraigned on the day of their arrest. Among the first questions asked at an arraignment is whether the defendant would like to be released on their own recognizance (also called an OR release). Getting an OR release means you are promising to show up for all court appearances , and a judge will likely consider your history, your ties to the community and the circumstances that led to your arrest before granting it. In most cases, courts want to know your reasons for wanting to drop charges before issuing an OR release. Your employer may have to vouch for your attendance. Pretrial conferences – where defendants and prosecutors discuss the evidence and possible plea bargains – happen in misdemeanor cases following the arraignment. Additional hearings and negotiations between you and your attorney are to be expected. Filing criminal charges is the most basic function of the criminal justice system. The filing of charges also triggers the protections inherent in due process rights (the right to an attorney, the right to testify or not testify, or to review the evidence and witnesses against you, etc.). These rights are automatically applied and provided to citizens under U.S. law, but contacts between defendants and the police must be voluntary and free from intimidation for the rights to apply.
The Involvement of the Victim Upon Dropping Charges
Normally, the victim of a crime does not have the power to drop charges. Criminal cases are opened, pursued and closed by the state. On the other hand, if the victim of a crime feels so strongly about no longer pursuing the case against the accused, they may file a complaint with the state attorney’s office stating that they no longer wish to pursue a case against the defendant. This is, however, a mere request and does not obligate the state to drop the case. The state attorney’s office has no contractual or ethical obligation to uphold such a request.
Even if the defendant and the victim agree to drop the case, it is ultimately the state that has the duty to prosecute violators of criminal law and they will not close the case just because the victim wishes it to. The prosecuting body may hold the opinion that, if the case were closed, it would allow a criminal to go free to commit more crimes. If this was the case, the prosecuting attorneys would have failed in their job.
In some cases, especially where the court views the crime to be very serious, the prosecuting body may invite the victim to speak during the criminal proceedings to explain why they would like the case dropped. Even if the victim’s story seems valid, the court will still look at the evidence as a whole and look at the level of punishment of the crime to decide whether to prosecute the case or not. In most situations, the state will pursue prosecution if the victim is in agreement or not.
If the victim is threatened or intimidated by the defendant in the case, especially from defendants who are members of organized crime syndicates, there are special laws and procedures available, which allow the victim to drop the case. Under the Witness Protection Act, the state can choose to relocate the victim to a safe area, pay for all expenses and protect them from all criminal activity thereafter.
These types of cases are, however, very rare and most cases are merely dropped without any repercussions. It is always good to speak to a qualified lawyer in order to learn more about ways to drop charges.
Ways To Legally Not Press Charges
When it comes to seeking the dismissal of charges before trial, a person generally does not have to go to court in order to get the case thrown out. Petitions may be filed with the clerk of both the District and Circuit Courts. Also, a Defendant in either court may file a prayer that the Judge dismiss the charges against him/her.
The District Court handles misdemeanor cases where charges are brought by the local City prosecutor’s office. In order to drop charges in either the District or Circuit Court, a defendant (or their attorney) can file a statement of facts and a motion to dismiss in the District Court. The statement of facts and motion dismissal must both be notarized by the defendant. A copy of the defendant’s criminal record is also required along with the application for a waiver of counsel. The Judge will then schedule a hearing for approximately 4-6 weeks later.
Note: In order to drop a charge in the District Court, the defendant must be eligible for a mistrial waiver. Certain violent and sexual offenses are not eligible for a waiver in the District Court and, therefore, the only recourse for a defendant is to have the Circuit Court address the charges.
The Circuit Court handles felony cases and deals with cases that are not previously resolved in the District Court. A person cannot file a petition for dismissal in the Circuit Court until after the case is rejected by the District Court and unless there are good cause shown. If a Judge in the Circuit Court finds good cause, he/she will set a show cause hearing. Within 10 days of the notice of the show cause hearing, an application must then be filed with the Circuit Court and must contain the reasons for dismissal. Once the Circuit Court has been given a reason for dropping the charges against a defendant, a hearing will be scheduled approximately 90 days later.
Prosecutorial Discretion to Dismiss Charges
The prosecutor’s discretion in charge dismissal
It is important to understand that the prosecutor ultimately has the ability to drop the charges, even if the victim requests the charges to be dropped. In most cases where this can happen, it is because the prosecutor decided not to proceed with the charges to begin with.
There are certain cases where the prosecutor has more discretion to drop the charges. For instance, prosecutors in some cases drop charges such as they might be more open to dropping a domestic violence charge when its a boyfriend/girlfriend domestic violence charge. If the criminal case involved a husband and wife or mother and son, the prosecutor may be less inclined to drop the case because they believe there is a better recidivism argument to proceed with the case. Some cases also benefit from the lapse of time. If the case is two years old and the prosecutor doesn’t think that they could proceed with the charges , then the prosecutor may be more inclined to agree to a dismissal of the charges even if the Domestic Violence victim doesn’t agree.
Notably, the prosecutor may not be in a position to dismiss a Protection Order charge. Under Protection Order law, there is a lesser burden on the Court to prove that the order should remain in place. However, the prosecutor is not the party who would eventually appear in Court for purposes of defending the case. In a Protection Order case, the prosecutor is involved in the case for purposes of obtaining the Temporary Restraining Order. In the absence of testimony from the victim as to the underlying events, it is possible that the Temporary Restraining Order is vacated. Since the prosecutor is not the right party, they may not have the authority to drop the charges.
How Dropping Charges Affect A Court Case
If you drop the charges before a court date, it’s more than likely that any court proceedings scheduled for a later date will also fall by the wayside. However, if the case was built on an arrest, and that arrest served as the basis for any legal proceedings, you may still be able to go to court and have the arrest record cleared away.
Whether or not that is possible will depend on the case itself and on where the proceedings are happening. In cases that are heading to civil court, a case could continue even after you requested that the criminal charge be dropped. A civil court case isn’t necessarily connected to a criminal case, so a judge might continue with the civil court case whether or not you proceed with the criminal case.
Relationship based cases may not go on without you. If you brought a lawsuit based on a domestic violence charge, and you drop the charges, you’ll probably drop the entire suit. If the charges are against you, and not against the other party, it’s possible for a civil court to continue with the case.
Cases filed by someone who isn’t directly involved in the case will continue whether or not charges are dropped. That’s because it’s technically up to the state to continue the case, not up to an individual. Sometimes those involved in the case that isn’t filing suit might feel pressured to continue regardless of their level of comfort with continuing the proceedings.
Advice & Representation
For those who are seriously wishing to know how to drop charges prior to court, legal advice is imperative for you. Your lawyer will be able to help you navigate this process to ensure you are not adding further consequences to yourself through your legal efforts . For example, in many cases the person who has put the charges on another person’s record, or is threatening to do so, can be charged with harassment in some way, and may also by implicated in another type of case if there is any kind of physical abuse, or even threat of abuse, involved in the situation. Having someone on your side to represent you as you try to have some criminal charges handled in a way that is not sent to court, is always a good idea.