Felony Pretrial Procedure

After the arrest and before the trial, there are a number of important events that take place in the life of a felony criminal case. Once a person is arrested, a judge determines the amount of bail. Bail cannot be tied to the evidence against the person — instead, the judge determines the likelihood that the defendant will appear at trial, if released. The judge may consider things like the defendant’s ties to the community, the severity of the offense and the flight risk of the defendant.

Once bail is set, the defendant may generally either post cash bail for the full amount, which is refunded after the trial, or pay a bondsman a nonrefundable fee, usually 10 percent of the bail amount. In other instances, especially in nonviolent misdemeanors and traffic citations, a judge may release a defendant on OR (own recognizance) bond, meaning the defendant simply promises to return for trial.

It is usually best that the defendant be out of jail, pending trial (if at all possible), because it is much easier for the attorney to meet with the defendant and prepare a vigorous defense.

Preliminary Hearing

A felony prosecution usually begins with an indictment returned by a grand jury. A grand jury is a group of people that meets to determine whether the prosecutor has enough evidence to proceed against a defendant — the grand jury returns a true-bill or no-bill.
Most Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys prefer a preliminary hearing to a grand jury hearing in felony cases. This is because the defendant’s lawyer may appear at a preliminary hearing and question witnesses.

At the Law Offices of Arash Hashemi, we provide clients with passionate and experienced representation. If you have been charged with a felony or any other crime and would like to schedule an initial consultation with a lawyer at our firm, contact us by phone at (310) 448-1529 or contact us online. We promptly return phone calls and emails. Our office is conveniently located in the Westside Towers in West Los Angeles, within minutes of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Westwood. We have flexible and weekend office hours, and we will visit you in jail to discuss your case.