Charges Refiled By District Attorney’s Office
District Attorney Drops The Charges And Re-Files
Every State has different laws, but some terminology and case procedures should be considered as universal in all States. Let’s talk about terms such as “dropped” and “re-filed”. It will give you a better understanding of how the law may affect you in relation to how you use the services of a Santa Ana Bail Bonds company. Let’s review case procedure stages quickly and see how the charges can be dropped and also re-filed.
How your arrest affects your status with a Santa Ana Bail Bonds agent
Ok, once the Santa Ana Police Department gets to the crime scene and you are present there or they find you after the warrant has been issued; procedure follows like the one that we see often in the movies. Putting hands behind the back is the step before the police officer would read “Miranda Rights” to you. “Miranda Rights” are presented to the person arrested in verbal form and indicate all the rights that the defendant has, including the right to have an Attorney at his or public cost as well as the right to remain silent. They will also tell you what the charge is and provide you the paperwork indicating the charge. The majority of the time, the Santa Ana Bail Bonds amount will be set right on the spot. You can post the bail or wait to see the Judge. The police have done their part of the job and the District Attorney is now in the charge of “charges”.
District Attorney in the charge of “charges”
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will review all the details and circumstances of your case, including any physical evidence and statements made by the witnesses. He will also review your prior criminal history. Let’s take a real life example that we know of from the past. The person was originally arrested for Burglary – a felony charge. His bail amount was set at $50,000. That means he will be paying a Santa Ana Bail Bonds agent $5,000 for a bail premium. He had no prior criminal history. The property that he entered was without permission, but he did not use any type of burglary tools, so there was no breaking and entering involved. He also stated that he is “not guilty”. However, the property owner claims that the defendant never had a permission to enter the home. The defendant and the homeowner got into a verbal argument, but no force was used. After the argument was over, the defendant left the place. In the end, the defendant left and the homeowner called the police. The defendant got arrested for the mentioned charge (Burglary). After reviewing all the details, the District Attorney decided that a Burglary – Felony charge is not really appropriate for this case, so he is about to “drop” the charge originally filed by the police. Defendant was waiting to see the Judge, but the police officer called him and informed him that the charges were dropped. The defendant got released the same day. However, this case was not over…yet!
Charges re-filed by the District Attorney
As soon as the defendant thought that the case is over, he received the letter in his mailbox saying that “Trespassing” (Misdemeanor) charge was filed against him and the court date has been set. In majority of the States, the District Attorney has a year to re-file (lower) criminal charges. Re-filed charges can be at the same level, which is not usual unless there are new evidence discovered, supporting the charge or it can be lesser charge like in our example. A few things were favorable in his case to remain free while his case is pending: he didn’t have any prior convictions, he never failed to appear at the court, he has a full time job, he is married and has two children, and the charge is a misdemeanor. Based on all mentioned favorable things, the defendant didn’t have any Orange County Bail Bonds amount set at this point and the only obligation that he has is to appear at the court until the case has been resolved.
Case dropped during the court procedure
If the District Attorney didn’t drop the charge at this stage, the case would be heard in front of the Judge. Keep in mind, you’ll still need to keep your Santa Ana Bail Bonds agent apprised of your legal situation. The judge might come to the conclusion that the charge is not applicable to this case and the charge can be dropped either by the Judge or by the District Attorney. The Judge might say that this case does not look like a Burglary, but more like a Trespassing charge. The Judge cannot lower the charge, since he never even filed the charge in the first place. He can only dismiss the case. At this point, the District Attorney would lower the charge to Trespassing (Misdemeanor). The case, at that point, would be transferred to another court, known as the Misdemeanor Court.
Things to watch-out for after the charge has been “dropped”
If you ever get in a situation similar to the above mentioned, when you get arrested and your case has been “dropped”, find out how much time District Attorney in California has to “pick-up dropped case and re-file”. Make sure that your current address is on file with your dropped case, since the charge might be re-filed and you might get informed by mail. If you are moving, it is strongly advisable to change your address with the DMV the very next day after leaving the old place. If the District Attorney re-filed and you have changed your address without informing the DMV about that, the letter will end up at the most recent location and you might never get informed that the charges were re-filed against you. Of course, at that point, you will “fail to appear”, which leads to a warrant for your arrest. There is nothing worse than not knowing that you have a warrant for arrest. Another way to find out if you have an active arrest warrant is to check with one of our Santa Ana Bail Bonds representatives.There is a limit of one year for misdemeanor cases to be re-filed, so if there is no evidence which would lead to a felony charge, you can consider that the case is closed after one year.