(Image source: Los Angeles Times)
A prison sentence means prison, right? Not necessarily. There are alternatives to imprisonment that vary from court to court. At 1-800-NoCuffs we know all the options in your area.
How long can you stay in custody before appearing in court?
After your arrest, the next step in the criminal process is the indictment. Section 825 of the California Criminal Code requires that a defendant arrested for a misdemeanor or felony must be produced before a judge “without unreasonable delay” and within 48 hours of the arrest, except on Sundays and holidays.
If you post bail after your arrest, you will be notified of your next court date at the time of your release. This court date is usually weeks or months later than your court date if you would have remained incarcerated and is based on the court’s available calendar. If you are paroled or receive a subpoena, the subpoena will tell you when your arraignment date is.
How long can an arrest warrant for a criminal suspect last?
For defendants facing criminal charges, an arrest warrant can keep them in jail until the end of the trial. This is often several months. If the defendant is convicted of the underlying crime that led to the warrant, he could end up serving more time in jail.
Arrest warrants alone do not result in a prison sentence. No arrest warrants either.
In prison | Charges or Clearance | A Criminal Attorney | The 72-hour rule from a lawyer’s perspective.
Once a person is arrested and taken to jail, and the probable cause of the arrest has been reviewed by an independent judge within 48 hours, the local prosecutor’s office must decide whether to press charges.
Unless a prosecutor decides to press charges, you or a loved one will be held in jail solely because the police officer and judge have found a probable cause for your arrest. In order to detain you for more than 72 hours (excluding weekends or public holidays), the public prosecutor must file a criminal complaint. You have up to 72 hours to charge people detained by police | judges, or a person must be released. If 48 hours have elapsed, this means that the prosecution only has another 24 hours to do so (note, however, that the 72-hour period does not include any part of Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays). When They Don’t File What Criminal Attorneys Do | The lawyers in the business call for “quick” fees, they are released; Note, however, that a prosecutor may still file criminal charges and (1) mail them to you, or (2) request a court to issue an injunction. You’ll find that when the prison releases you, they make sure they have an up-to-date address. This is important because if you lose your charges, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.