When someone you love is arrested, the legal process can feel like a maze of hearings and terms nobody explains. This guide walks through how a criminal case moves in California, from the arrest through the appeal, in plain language. Knowing the steps, what each one is for, and roughly when it happens helps you understand where your person is in the process and what is coming next. California runs all of its trial cases through one court, charges most felonies through a preliminary hearing, and has its own sentencing system, so understanding how it works here is the key to following the case and supporting your person without getting lost.
Here is the short version. After an arrest, a person who is held in custody is brought before a judge for an arraignment, generally within forty eight hours not counting weekends and holidays, where they learn the charges, the judge addresses bail, and they enter a plea. All criminal cases are handled in the superior court, which is the single trial court in each county. Most felonies are charged by the prosecutor and then tested at a preliminary hearing, where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to go forward. If there is, the person is arraigned a second time and the case heads toward trial. The case moves through plea discussions and pretrial steps, and if it is not resolved it goes to trial before a jury. If there is a conviction, the judge imposes a sentence, and the person has the right to appeal. Each step has a purpose, and knowing them helps you follow along.
Arrest, arraignment, and California's courts
The process starts with an arrest, made either on a warrant or, in many situations, without one when an officer has probable cause. After the arrest, the person is booked, which means the basic recording of the case: name, the charges, fingerprints, and photographs. During this time officers may try to ask questions, and it is worth knowing that a person has the right to stay silent and the right to ask for a lawyer.
One thing that makes California simpler than many states is its court structure. Since the late 1990s, California has had a single level of trial court, the superior court, and each of the state's counties has one. There are no separate lower courts for misdemeanors, so every criminal case, from the smallest misdemeanor to the most serious felony, is handled in the superior court. After booking, a person who is held in custody is brought before a judge for the arraignment, which for someone in custody generally must happen within forty eight hours of the arrest, not counting weekends and court holidays. The arraignment is the first court appearance. The judge tells the person the charges, advises them of their rights, including the right to a lawyer and to have one appointed if they cannot afford it, addresses bail, and asks the person to enter a plea. If a person was released after arrest, the arraignment may be set weeks later.
Bail and pretrial release
Bail is the way the court allows a person to be released while the case is pending, with a promise, usually backed by money or a bond, that they will come back to court. In California, the judge addresses bail at the arraignment, weighing factors such as the seriousness of the charge, the person's ties to the community, their record, and whether they are considered a flight risk or a danger to others.
Release can take a few forms. A person may post the full amount, use a bail bond company that posts a bond for a fee, or be released on their own recognizance, often shortened to O.R., which means a written promise to return without having to post money. The court can also attach conditions to release, such as staying away from a victim or witness, surrendering a passport, or checking in regularly. California has been changing how bail works, and judges increasingly weigh whether a person can be safely released without money bail, so practices can vary from county to county. If your person is held and cannot make bail, an attorney can ask the court to lower the amount or to grant release on their own recognizance. Understanding how release works in California helps a family plan realistically rather than scrambling, and it is one of the first places a lawyer can make a practical difference.
How charges are brought in California
This is where California's process has a feature worth understanding. Misdemeanors, which are less serious offenses, are charged by the prosecutor filing a document called a complaint, and the case proceeds in the superior court. A felony, which is a more serious offense, starts the same way, with the prosecutor filing a felony complaint, but it then has to clear an extra step before it can go to trial.
That step is the preliminary hearing, sometimes called a prelim or a probable cause hearing. It is usually held within ten court days of the arraignment, unless the person agrees to wait. At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution presents evidence and the defense can cross examine witnesses, and a judge, not a jury, decides whether there is enough evidence to believe the person committed the crime. This is not a trial and does not decide guilt. If the judge finds enough evidence, the person is held to answer, and the case moves forward on a charging document called an information. If the judge does not, charges can be reduced or dismissed. There is a second way to charge a felony, through a grand jury, a group of citizens who hear the prosecution's evidence in private and can return an indictment, but in California this route is much less common, and a person who is indicted by a grand jury does not get a preliminary hearing. The point to remember is that in California most felonies have to pass through a preliminary hearing before they can proceed toward trial.
Arraignment and entering a plea
California felonies actually involve two arraignments. The first comes right after arrest, as described above. If the case clears the preliminary hearing and the person is held to answer, there is a second arraignment in the superior court, this time on the information, the charging document based on the preliminary hearing. At an arraignment, the formal charges are read, the person is advised of their rights, and they enter a plea: guilty, not guilty, or no contest, which means the person does not admit guilt but accepts that the court will treat the case as proven. Most people plead not guilty at this stage, which keeps all options open while the defense reviews the case. After the second arraignment, the court typically sets a trial date and any earlier hearings. If a person has a lawyer by this point, the lawyer usually handles the arraignment with them.
Plea bargaining and pretrial
Most criminal cases in California, like most everywhere, are resolved without a trial. As the case develops, the defense attorney and the prosecutor often discuss whether it can be settled through a plea agreement, in which the person agrees to plead guilty or no contest, often to a reduced charge or in exchange for a recommended sentence. A judge does not have to accept a plea agreement, but these negotiations resolve a large share of cases. A person is never required to take a plea deal, and the decision belongs to the defendant after advice from their lawyer.
Alongside any plea discussions, the pretrial phase involves the work of preparing the case. Both sides exchange information through discovery, which is the process of sharing evidence. The defense may file pretrial motions, such as a motion to suppress evidence the defense believes was obtained improperly, a motion to dismiss, or motions about what can be used at trial. These rulings can shape the case significantly, sometimes enough to change whether it goes to trial at all. This phase can take time, and for families it can feel like nothing is happening, but it is often where the case is really being decided.
Trial, sentencing, and appeal
If a case is not resolved by a plea, it goes to trial. A person charged with a crime has the right to a trial by jury, and for a felony in California the jury is made up of twelve people. To convict, the jurors must agree unanimously that the person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the highest standard of proof in the law. The person is presumed innocent, does not have to prove anything, and does not have to testify. The prosecution presents its case, the defense can cross examine and present its own, and the jury decides the verdict. A person may also choose a bench trial, where a judge decides instead of a jury.
If the verdict is not guilty, the person is acquitted and released on those charges. If the verdict is guilty, or if the person pleaded guilty or no contest, the case moves to sentencing, where the judge imposes the penalty. California uses what is called determinate sentencing for most felonies, meaning the law sets three specific prison terms for an offense, a lower, a middle, and an upper term, and the judge selects among them based on the circumstances. A smaller number of the most serious offenses instead carry indeterminate terms, such as a range that can extend to life. Sentences can also be affected by other laws, including measures that send some lower level felony sentences to county custody and supervision rather than state prison. A sentence can include prison or jail time, probation or supervision, fines, restitution, or a combination. After a conviction, the person generally has the right to appeal. A felony appeal goes to the California Court of Appeal, and from there a person can ask the California Supreme Court to review the case, which it does at its discretion. An appeal is not a new trial. The appellate court reviews the record for legal errors that affected the outcome. There is also a separate process, called habeas corpus, for raising certain issues outside the trial record, such as a claim that the trial lawyer was ineffective.
The bottom line for California
The California criminal process moves in a clear sequence once you know the steps. Every case, misdemeanor or felony, is handled in the superior court, the single trial court in each county. After an arrest, a person in custody is arraigned, generally within forty eight hours not counting weekends and holidays, where charges are read, bail is addressed, and a plea is entered. Most felonies are charged by complaint and then have to clear a preliminary hearing, where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence, before proceeding on an information. The person is arraigned again, the case moves through plea negotiations and pretrial motions, and if it is not resolved it goes to trial before a twelve person jury that must agree unanimously to convict. A conviction leads to sentencing, often from a set of three possible terms, and then the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal, with discretionary review possible at the California Supreme Court. Knowing where your person is in this sequence, and what each stage is for, lets you follow the case, ask better questions, and spend your energy where it actually helps.