If your loved one has recently committed a crime in El Paso, you are going to want a criminal defense attorney. If a trial is in order, it may take anywhere between months and years to settle the case. This is not likely though since most cases do not make it past the pretrial process. Here at Brandon L. Lettunich, Attorney at Law, we have created a quick review of what happens in this process.

Bail and Arraignments

After a defendant has been arrested and booked, the defendant is given the choice of posting bail which allows them to spend their time at home waiting for their court hearings. Next is the arraignment, where a defendant can plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest to the charges against them. Since an arraignment can lead to jail time for the defendant depending on the results, one can enter into a plea bargain with the prosecutors.

Plea Bargain

With the help of a criminal defense attorney, you can come up with a reasonable plea bargain that will appease both the defendant and the prosecutor. Typically this will require the defendant to change their plea to guilty in exchange for a shorter jail sentence. If neither party can agree on a bargain, then the defendant can move to have a preliminary hearing.

Preliminary Hearing

Throughout this hearing, a prosecutor will present evidence against the defendant to a judge. Based on how strong the case is, the judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to charge the defendant. If there is, then the defendant will either move towards a trial or try to establish a new plea bargain.