When someone is arrested, their case begins with the police report. But then it is up to a prosecutor to choose whether or not charges will be filed in the case. How does a prosecutor make this choice? How do the charges proceed? Keep reading to find out.

If someone is arrested, the police report goes to a prosecutor, and the report will tell him or her the date, location, and other details of both the arrest and alleged crime. The report can even get down to the specifics of the weather at the time of supposed offense. Having looked over the report, the prosecutor can:

• File a complaint with the trial court to charge the suspect with a felony or misdemeanor
• Take the case to a grand jury to ask them to charge the suspect with a felony
• Decide against filing charges and drop the case

How fast does the prosecutor have to choose to file charges or not?

Rather fast. In most cases, after an arrest, a prosecutor usually has 72 hours in which to pursue charges or not. There can even be a stricter deadline, like in California, where the prosecutor has 48 hours in which to press charges. But even after first filing the charges, the prosecutor can modify them. The charge could be altered more than a month later, after a preliminary hearing for instance.

How does the prosecutor decide whether to file charges?

There is the police report, of course, but other matters enter the equation as well:

• Local policies: Depending on the prosecution office, certain cases may have special policies. In one office, for instance, all drunk driving arrests would be charged in trial and would not include the chance of reducing charges through a plea bargain.
• Political goals: The majority of prosecutors were elected to their position, and from their office, they are likely have their eyes on a higher elected position. Support groups, public opinion, and other related interests could affect the prosecutor's call. For instance, a prosecutor who wants to win support from local business could choose to file charges against every single person arrested for shoplifting.
• To "do justice": As part of their office, a prosecutor may decide that it furthers justice to drop or reduce charges in certain cases. Perhaps a person with a totally clean record made one stupid choice and there is almost no chance of them getting in trouble with the law again; the prosecutor could think it wisest to simply drop charges instead of wasting money and time on pursuing those charges.

Felony Cases and a Grand Jury

Prosecutors also have the choice of handing the case over to a grand jury to see if they think there should be a trial or not. Grand juries differ in a number of ways from the regular jury you see in a trial. While the people on grand juries are randomly selected, the grand jurors' job is to agree on whether or not there is enough evidence to support indicting someone and going to trial. They have secret meetings instead of operating in a public trial. There are also 15 to 23 people on a grand jury. The grand jury's decision does not have to be unanimous.

At a grand jury proceeding, a prosecutor would tell the jurors about charges and give as little evidence as is necessary to get the jury to agree to an indictment. Witnesses may be brought to testify. When a grand jury believes there should be an indictment, it gives the prosecutor a "true bill". The jurors hand a "no-bill" over to the prosecutor when they decide not to indict. The prosecutor then has the option to give that grand jury additional evidence, start over with another grand jury, or simply to file a complaint with the court to file charges.

Preliminary Hearings

Whenever a prosecutor files a criminal complaint instead of getting an indictment for a felony, there needs to be a preliminary hearing, where the prosecutor presents evidence to justify a trial. Prosecutors usually do not have to present as much evidence in a grand jury proceeding as they do in a preliminary hearing, so this is one reason that prosecutors may choose to go before a grand jury instead.

If you or someone you know has been arrested, or if you already face criminal charges, you need to act now to make the right decisions for your future and to protect your rights. You can find the help you deserve from a criminal defense attorney when you contact a legal professional from our directory today!