Pending Criminal Charges — Ask the Inmate
The period between arrest and conviction is one of the most uncertain and stressful phases of the entire criminal justice experience. Cases can drag on for months or years. Plea negotiations, pretrial hearings, continuances, and evidence reviews all happen while a person sits in county jail or on bail waiting for a resolution. This section covers how the pretrial process works, what the difference is between a felony and a misdemeanor, how plea deals are negotiated and what the risks are, what happens at a preliminary hearing versus a trial, how defense investigators can help build a case, and what families can do to support their loved one through the uncertainty of pending charges. The guidance here is written for families encountering the criminal justice system for the first time who need to understand what is happening without being overwhelmed by legal complexity. See also our sections on Law Questions and Legal Terms, Bail and Bond Questions, and Sentencing Questions.
In many states, possession of drug paraphernalia is a misdemeanor for a first-time offender with no prior drug history. In those cases the outcome often involves a fine, probation, mandatory drug counseling or education classes, and in some jurisdictions a diversion program that can result in the charge being dismissed upon completion. Actual jail time for a clean first offense on this charge alone is possible but not the most common outcome. The picture changes significantly when criminal history
Read moreWhen someone is picked up by the FBI, they leave the county system and enter federal custody, which means they will no longer appear in the county jail's records. That explains why the facility is telling you he is not there even though the same location keeps coming up in searches. He has been moved and the databases have not caught up or are simply not showing his new location. Here is how to track him down. Search
Read moreYes, unfortunately the answer is that significant federal prison time for alien smuggling is very real even for a first time offender and even when the person claims they did not know the full circumstances of what they were involved in. The harsh sentencing reality around this offense comes directly from the post September 11 legal landscape. The Patriot Act and the expanded authority given to the Department of Homeland Security dramatically increased the penalties associated with smuggling people
Read moreWhen someone you believe is innocent is facing a murder charge, the urgency is real and the instinct to do everything possible is exactly right. But everything possible has to be channeled in the right direction, and that starts with legal representation. The distinction between a trial lawyer and a lawyer who primarily handles plea negotiations is not a minor one. A murder trial in Texas is a serious undertaking that requires someone with courtroom experience, jury selection skills,
Read moreYes, and the answer is more absolute than most people expect. If a judge has issued a bench warrant for any reason, including an unpaid traffic ticket, that warrant is a legal hold that the releasing facility is obligated to honor regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. Medical condition, upcoming surgery, length of time served, none of those factors automatically override an active warrant. When an inmate is released from one facility with an active hold from another jurisdiction,
Read moreYou can check with the GDC inmate locator to see if they are listing anything about his appeal and/or added time to his sentence with an escape charge. You can also call the facility and ask to speak to a case manager or counselor and see if they will give you any information.
Read moreYes, absolutely. This is one of the most important things anyone with an active warrant needs to understand before walking into a correctional facility for any reason. Jails and prisons are law enforcement environments. Every visitor goes through an identification check before being allowed in and that check runs your information against warrant databases. It does not matter whether the warrant is from another county, whether it is for a misdemeanor, or whether you have made repeated good faith
Read moreThis is one of the most common and most misunderstood situations in the criminal justice system and the honest answer is one that many people in your position do not want to hear but need to know. Once domestic violence charges are filed the case belongs to the state or the prosecutor, not to you. You did not file the charges and you cannot drop them. The decision to prosecute, negotiate a plea, or dismiss the case rests entirely
Read moreThere is no single answer to this because sentencing on fraud and theft charges depends on a combination of factors that vary significantly from case to case and state to state. What we can do is walk through what typically drives the outcome. The number of counts matters enormously. Three counts each of identity theft, credit card fraud, theft by deception, and theft by taking means twelve separate charges. Each count carries its own potential sentence and a judge
Read moreThis is one of the harder questions to put a number on because the answer depends on factors that vary significantly from case to case and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. When someone violates parole and picks up new charges at the same time, they are typically looking at two separate proceedings running alongside each other. The parole violation is handled by the original sentencing judge or a parole board, while the new charges go through the court system in whatever
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