Arrest in Arizona
If you have been arrested for a minor crime, a misdemeanor, a DUI, or some other low-level offense in Arizona, it may not be necessary for you to see a judge immediately. When you are arrested, you are processed through the jail, they take your information, a copy of your driver’s license, fingerprints, a booking photo, and they may just release you while scheduling you with a court date. This often happens for lower level offenses. If it is a higher-level offense such as a felony, then it can be more severe. They may be able to keep you in custody for up to twenty-four hours prior to you appearing before a judge. That hearing is what is called an arraignment.
When charged with a felony, you could be in jail for twenty-four hours before you would see a judge. At that time, the judge would then determine your release conditions. Those release conditions could be very simple. The judge could release you on your own recognizance, meaning you can get out of custody freely without having to report to anyone. They can release you on pretrial services, which means you would then have to report to a monitoring unit to make sure that you are not leaving the state or engaging in any wrongful behavior. Similarly, the judge could require you to post a bond, which would be a monetary sum of money that would secure your appearance and prevent you from leaving the state.
There are also crimes that are non-bondable, which means that you cannot get out of custody. For serious crimes, such as sex crimes, or crimes that are committed when someone is on probation, you may not be getting out of jail. If you committed any of those crimes while still on probationary status you may be non-bondable.
What Rights Does Someone Have After They Have Been Arrested?
The most important right that we encourage anybody who has been arrested to exercise is the right to remain silent. You hear about this right often when the police read you what is called Miranda Rights. Many people have heard about these rights on TV shows and in movies. But many times the most important right that you have the right to remain silent, and that right should be exercised. Once somebody has been arrested, the police are generally inclined to conduct a thorough interview with that individual, ask him or her questions about what happened, and try to get them to incriminate themselves by discussing elements of the allegations in the very large majority of any criminal case.
We have found that when our clients talk with the police, it does nothing to help their cases. Depending on the nature of the charge, you may have additional rights. You may have the right to have an attorney to be provided for you. If not, you certainly have the right to contact a lawyer, and that should be exercised as well. However, the first right that we emphasize is the right to remain silent. People often think that they can talk their way out of the arrest, or their way out of the charges, by explaining everything. That simply just does not happen. We encourage anybody who has been arrested to remain silent.
What Paperwork Does Someone Have When They Get Out Of Jail?
After an individual has been released from jail following an arrest in Arizona, the next steps the person must take are going to be dependent upon the allegations put forth against them. If it is a misdemeanor offense, they are likely going to get a court date in about thirty days. They should have a piece of paper that says “Arizona Ticket and Complaint” that has a court date at the bottom of that document and an address for where that individual needs to be. It has a date, time, and an address where the court proceedings will take place. That is generally about the extent of the instructions that a person receives. They are supposed to show up at that address at that time, and obtain further instructions from the court clerk, or the staff at the counter. If they have an attorney that will all be handled by their attorney.
However, if it is a more serious offense, like a DUI, you are going to have multiple documents. One is going to an Admin Per Se, and that document is going to address an individual’s driving privileges with the MVD. When a person is charged with a DUI, documents are filed in two separate locations, and an individual is going to get copies of those two documents. One document is the ticket that is filed with the court, and that is going to have the court date and the time that they need to appear. They are also going to get the admin per se document, the second document filed with the MVD, that is going to give them instructions in very fine print that says that their license is going to be suspended for a certain period based upon the circumstances of the case.
Oftentimes, when you are charged with DUI you may have your car impounded. They may give you an impound slip so you know where your car has been towed, and you can potentially retrieve it, if possible to do so the next day. There may also be an inventory sheet that accompanies that paperwork. This would include a list of items that were seized or impounded, such as cell phones, credit cards, any illegal paraphernalia, or items that the police want to retain for evidentiary purposes. Those items will be impounded, but a person will have a copy for their records.
For more information on Aftermath Of An Arrest In Arizona, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (602) 737-2437 today.
