After an arrest, you will be booked and arraigned.
In California, there are several things that will happen after you are arrested on suspicion of committing a crime. Along the way, you will have the option of asserting your rights. Doing so can help to protect your ability to defend yourself in future criminal proceedings.
If you are arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, police officers will take you into custody. For example, if you get into a fight at a bar, law enforcement officers who respond to the scene may put you in handcuffs, place you in the back of a police car, and take you to the police station. The officers should read your rights to you. These are known as the Miranda warnings. These warnings include the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
The officers do not have to read the Miranda warnings to you immediately when they take you into custody (i.e., when you are no longer free to leave). They only have to read your rights once you are in-custody and being interrogated or questioned. If the police do not read your rights to you, then any statement that you give to them could be deemed inadmissible once your criminal defense attorney in Riverside, CA gets involved. Remember that you should exercise these rights! Tell the law enforcement officers that you are exercising your right to remain silent, and that you want an attorney.
Be clear that you want a lawyer — anything less than a specific request for an attorney may not be honored. If you ask for a lawyer, all questioning should stop. However, simply invoking the right to remain silent won’t stop questioning. The police can still question you, so be sure to also ask for a lawyer. Keep in mind that even if you don’t talk to the police, if you talk to someone else (other than your attorney) about the alleged crime — even over the phone — it can be used against you.
Once you are in custody, you will be handcuffed and taken to central booking to be processed. Here, your picture will be taken, you will be searched, and the police will take your fingerprints. Then, you will be placed in a holding cell until you are arraigned.
While you are in jail waiting to be arraigned, you may be tempted to try to talk your way out. Remember that the police don’t want to help you. Their goal is to arrest someone for a crime, not to help you get out of jail. Your best bet is to stay silent and wait to talk to your lawyer.
At your arraignment, the judge will read the charges to you. Then you will typically have the chance to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest. Then, the issue of bail and release is determined. From there, future court dates are set.
If you have been arrested for a crime, you will need the help of a skilled criminal defense attorney in Riverside, CA. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
