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OK, so you have been charged, now what do you do? Contact an attorney and make sure you understand your rights. Generally charges can be categorized by the penalties involved.
What is the process in Nebraska State Courts? The process is generally
Once you are charged with a violation, you may be issued a citation which you can pay or contest. If the charge is a more serious misdemeanor or felony, you will be requested to appear in court. You may be initially detained in jail awaiting your first appearance or depending on the seriousness of the charge, you may be allowed to present yourself in court at a prearranged date and time. Bail/Bond. If you are detained in jail, you may have the opportunity to post bail and be released. Your violation may be a scheduled offense, where the arresting officer and the jail knows exactly how much your bail is when you arrive at the jail. There is a list of criminal charges and the amount of bail required to be posted to be released. Once you are booked and you make bail, you can be released. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, you may have to go before a judge to get your bail set. In Nebraska generally you must pay ten percent of the bail bond in cash to be released. That is, if your bail is set at $10,000.00, you must pay $1,000.00 to be released on bond. The State will retain 10% of your posted bond as fees and if you conduct yourself according to the bond, the remaining 90% will be returned to you upon the court's release of your bond. Generally, retaining an attorney while in jail awaiting bond may be cost effective. The amount that you pay your attorney many times can be offset with the amount of bond that is set. In other words, paying your attorney $1500 might help you get your bond set at $10,000/10% instead of $50,000/10%, saving you $2500 and getting you legal representation. Public Defender. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint a public defender to represent you. You will be requested to complete a financial affidavit where you tell the court what your income and assets are. Bond Review. If your bond is set higher than you can afford to pay, you may request a bond review. This is where a private attorney may be of some assistance. If you have a public defender, you may not get a bond review for some time. If you want to expedite the process, consider hiring a private attorney that will make your case a priority and get you a bond review to lower your bond so you can return to your job. ROR. Your attorney can argue based on your ties to the community, employment, previous lack of failures to appear, criminal history, and other factors that you should be released on your own recognizance. In other words, that based on your promise to appear in court as requested, you will not have to post bond. ROR is generally reserved for those who have no failures to appear and no criminal history, with a steady job, and ties to the community. Now that you have been charged or arrested, what happens next?
If you are charged with a city ordinance violation or misdemeanor, you will not have a preliminary hearing. You can skip this step. If you are charged with a felony, you start the process in County Court. Your initial appearance in county court is a preliminary hearing. In this preliminary hearing, you have the opportunity to hear the evidence that the state has against you. In a preliminary hearing the prosecutor may call any witnesses they choose. You or your attorney will have the opportunity to cross examine these witnesses. The State must show that there is probable cause that you committed the violation. In order to show probable cause, the state must show it is more likely than not that you committed the crime charged. If the state can meet their burden, then you are bound over to district court to be arraigned. Your next appearance will be in District Court. Waiver. There are lots of times that your attorney will advise you to waive your preliminary hearing. Why? Usually if you will waive the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor will agree to give your attorney a copy of the police reports and witness statements in your case. There are some prosecutors that will not provide police reports if you do not waive your preliminary hearing. In some cases, the attorney may believe that they are in a better position to defend you if they have all of the information that the state has in their possession. No Waiver. Why would my attorney want me to have a preliminary hearing? If your attorney believes that the prosecutor cannot meet the burden of showing that it is more likely than not that you committed the crime charged, they may request a preliminary hearing. If the state fails to meet their burden, your case is dismissed at the County Court level.
You will be brought before the court and arraigned. This process involves the court advising you of your rights and asking you to enter a plea. Your rights. Under Nebraska Law, you have the following rights:
Penalties. The court will inquire if you have been advised of the possible penalties for the violations with which you are charged. Restitution. You may also be required to make restitution for damages. Plea. You will be asked to enter a plea as to your charges. You may plea Guilty, Not Guilty, or No Contest. Your lawyer will assist you in determining the appropriate plea. The burden is on the State to prove each and every element of the crime with which you have been charged. There are lots of reasons to enter a plea of not guilty. There are very few reasons to enter a plea of guilty except to give up all of your rights and get it over with. Before you enter a plea of guilty, you need to make sure to consider the long term consequences of that charge on your criminal record. It may not seem like much now, but there are a lot of employers that look at your criminal record in making hiring decisions. Waiver of Appearance. If you discuss your rights, possible penalties, and possible restitution in advance with your attorney, you may decide to enter a Plea of Not Guilty and Waiver of Appearance. If you enter a written plea of not guilty, you will not appear in court for your arraignment. This may save you time off work as well as the stress of appearing before the court.
If you have retained an attorney, your attorney will work with you and the prosecutor to negotiate a plea deal if appropriate. You and your attorney may decide that you don't want to make any deals and that you want your day in court. Sometimes it may be prudent to consider a deal even if you feel that you are not guilty because of the consequences involved. Maybe combined with the cost of defending the action and the possible consequences, it may be appealing to accept a plea agreement that only involves probation. Maybe not. Each person and each case is different. Only you and your attorney can analyze the facts and consequences to determine the course of action that is appropriate for you in your case. What are some of the factors that may help you in your plea negotiations?
There are a lot of things to consider when entering plea negotiations. At times the prosecutor may offer to change your charges to a lesser offense or give you a lesser sentence in exchange for information regarding other crimes. Each individual should discuss this with their attorney.
OK, so the plea negotiations didn't work or you chose not to go there. Now, is your big moment. The State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each and every element of the crime charged. They will call witnesses. Your attorney can cross examine these witnesses. This can be before the judge or if requested before a jury.
If you have been found guilty at trial, the judge may sentence you immediately or they judge may request a pre-sentence investigation, PSI. If the judge requests a PSI, you will be instructed to meet with a probation officer to answer a lengthy questionnaire about your past. You will be asked about your family, education, upbringing, criminal history, etc. Requests for information may be sent to employers and others to ensure that your disclosures are accurate. You may be asked to submit to a drug or alcohol evaluation. You may be asked to submit to a drug test. Once the PSI is complete, the judge will review it and based on the recommendations of the probation officer preparing the PSI, will sentence you. You and your attorney will have the opportunity to review the PSI for accuracy prior to your sentencing. The judge does not have to go along with the recommendations of the probation officer.
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