District Attorney's Office Toombs Judicial Circuit Dennis C. Sanders Stages of Criminal Process

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Stages of the Criminal Process

Office of the District Attorney

Toombs Judicial Circuit

1. BAIL/BOND HEARING

After an arrest, the accused is offered an opportunity to make bail (or bond).
By paying the specified amount of money, the accused is allowed to be free
from jail to await further legal proceedings. The justification for bail/bond is to
assure the Court that the accused returns to court and it further serves to
maintain the presumption of innocence for the accused. Sometimes victims
become frustrated or angry seeing the accused out on bail. But under our
system, no one can be punished prior to conviction. Depending on the
offense, bail/bond is set by the local Sheriff or Magistrate. There are certain
crimes that require bail/bond to be set by a Superior Court Judge and only by a
Superior Court Judge. Those crimes include:

Murder
Aggravated Child Molestation
Armed Robbery
Aircraft Hijacking
Rape
Aggravated Sodomy
Treason
Drug Trafficking

For the individual suspected of committing one of these crimes, it is necessary
for his attorney to petition the Superior Court for a bond hearing. At the bond
hearing, the judge may set bond for the individual or the judge may remand the
accused to jail to await other proceedings under some circumstances.
Under the victim's bill of rights, you have the right to be notified of any court
hearings where release of the accused will be considered as well as release of
the accused. You also have the right to express your opinion on the release of
the accused pending court proceedings. It is your responsibility to notify the
local law enforcement agency that you wish to be notified of any bail/bond
hearings and you must provide them with a current address and home and
work telephone numbers (not pagers) where you can be reached.

2. PRELIMINARY HEARING


In a felony case, your first appearance as a witness may be for the preliminary
hearing. This hearing is not held to determine the innocence or guilt of the
accused, but merely to determine whether there is enough evidence to go
before the Grand Jury. If, after listening to the evidence from both parties, the
judge decides that the evidence does not justify sending the case forward, he
must dismiss the case. However, if the judge determines that the evidence
shows probable cause that the accused committed the crime for which he is
charged, he sends that case to the Grand Jury. The judge may order the
accused to stay in jail or release him on bail.

3. GRAND JURY

The Grand Jury is a group of 23 citizens who have been summoned to hear
evidence about crimes which have allegedly been committed within their county
and to decide whether sufficient grounds exist to bind the defendant over for
trial. Grand Jury proceedings are conducted in private, and unlike preliminary
hearings, the defendant and his lawyer are not present. Only witnesses
summoned will attend. If the Grand Jury decides that there is sufficient
evidence to bind the defendant over for trial, it will return a true bill of
indictment, which is the official document that charges the individual with a
crime. However, if the grand jury decides that there is not sufficient evidence
to bind the defendant over for trial, it will return a no bill and that will end the
case.

4. ARRAIGNMENT

After a true bill of indictment is returned by the Grand Jury, the defendant is
arraigned. Many people in our Circuit call this "Guilty Plea Day". It is at this
point that the judge advises the defendant of the charges against him. The
defendant then enters his plea of "guilty" or "not guilty." If the defendant
pleads guilty, then no trial is necessary. The defendant will then be sentenced
as if a jury had found him guilty. Some cases are settled without trial by
negotiations between the parties. In criminal cases, the process for settlement
without trial is called plea-bargaining. This is an arrangement where the
defense attorney, representing the defendant, and the District Attorney,
representing the State, settle the case in a mutually agreed upon manner,
subject to the approval by the Court. However, if he pleads not guilty, a trial
will be held at a later date to determine his guilt or innocence. A defendant
may decide to have their case tried before a judge rather than a jury. In that
event, the defendant would waive a jury trial and would still have to be tried.
But in this instance it would be tried before only the judge and the judge, no
the jury, would decide the guilt or innocence of the accused. If you are a
witness, you may be required to be present at arraignment.

5. PRE-TRIAL

The Toombs Circuit and other circuits hold a day for pre-trials. It is usually
held a couple of weeks prior to trial. On this day, the Judge will insure that the
case is ready for trial. In many cases, there are pretrial motions. Some
motions are made by the defense attorney and some by the District Attorney.
Occasionally, it may be necessary to have a witness, such as yourself, testify
at such motions. If there are motions pending, the Judge may set down a day
for those motions to be heard prior to trial. Frequently, a defendant will
change his plea from "not guilty" to a plea of "guilty". In that event, the Judge
would sentence him on that day as if a jury had found him guilty.

6. TRIAL

In the Toombs Circuit, misdemeanor cases are tried in Superior Court before
the judge (if the defendant waived a trial by jury) or a jury of six citizens.
Felony cases are also tried in the Superior Court, and the judge (if the
defendant waived trial by jury) or a jury of twelve citizens will determine the
guilt or innocence of the accused. Their decision is made based on testimony
presented by witnesses during the trial. Trials are normally open to the public,
but as a witness, you probably will not be entitled to hear the case in its
entirety. Witnesses are normally kept outside the hearing of the trial itself. Do
not be offended if you are asked to leave the courtroom. The purpose of this
is to assure that the testimony of one witness is not influenced by what other
witnesses say on the stand. After you have testified, you are usually permitted
to hear the rest of the trial. Once you are "excused" by the judge, you may
remain in the Courtroom.
The trial of the criminal case in Superior Court follows the procedure outlined
below:
           1. Opening Statements
           2. State's Case
           3. Defendant's Case
           4. Closing Arguments
           5. Judge's Charge
           6. Jury Deliberation
           7. Verdict

		BAIL/BOND HEARING
		PRELIMINARY HEARING
		GRAND JURY
		ARRAIGNMENT
		PRE-TRIAL
		TRIAL

210 Railroad Street
PO Drawer 966
Thomson, Georgia

706. 595. 7175
706. 595.8616 fax