The California Criminal Process — From Arrest to Resolution.

Arrest

An arrest occurs when a law enforcement officer takes a person into custody based on probable cause to believe they have committed a crime. Probable cause is a legal standard — it requires more than a hunch but less than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard required for conviction.

What happens at arrest

The officer places you under arrest, reads your Miranda rights (“You have the right to remain silent…”), and transports you to a booking facility. You are not required to answer questions beyond providing basic identifying information. Exercise your right to remain silent and ask for an attorney.

Your rights at arrest

• The right to remain silent
• The right to an attorney
• The right to have an attorney appointed if you cannot afford one
• The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures

North Orange County — where arrests go

For most North OC cities — Fullerton, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Placentia, La Habra — arrests are booked through local city jails and then transferred to Orange County Sheriff facilities for longer holds. Cases are assigned to the North Justice Center in Fullerton.

Booking

Booking is the administrative process following arrest — fingerprints, photographs, personal property inventory, and a criminal history check. You are assigned a booking number, which is how you can be located through the county inmate locator system.

Booking typically takes several hours. You will be held until bail is set or you are released on your own recognizance. An attorney retained before arraignment can begin working on bail immediately.

Bail

Bail is money paid to the court to secure your release while the case proceeds. It is not a fine — if you appear at all required court dates, bail is returned at the end of the case regardless of the outcome.

How bail is set in Orange County

Most charges follow the Orange County bail schedule — a predetermined bail amount for each offense. Felonies and certain misdemeanors require a bail hearing where a judge sets the amount based on the charge, the defendant’s criminal history, ties to the community, and flight risk.

Own recognizance release

In some cases, a defendant is released on their own recognizance — a written promise to appear — without posting bail. OR release is more common for first offenses, misdemeanors, and defendants with strong community ties.

How an attorney helps with bail

An attorney can appear at the bail hearing, present mitigating factors, and argue for reduced bail or OR release. The difference between a $50,000 bail and a $25,000 bail — or between bail and no bail — can be the difference between staying in custody and going home.

Arraignment

Arraignment is your first formal court appearance. The judge reads the charges against you and asks for your plea.

The three pleas

• Not guilty — the most common initial plea. It preserves all defense options, begins the pretrial phase, and allows time for the defense to review the evidence.
• Guilty — an admission to the charge as filed. Almost never the right move at arraignment before the evidence has been reviewed.
• No contest — neither admits nor denies guilt, but accepts the criminal punishment. Has the same criminal consequences as a guilty plea but cannot be used as an admission in a civil lawsuit arising from the same incident.

At arraignment

The court also addresses bail — modifying, maintaining, or releasing the defendant. For in-custody defendants in Orange County, arraignment is typically scheduled within 48 hours of arrest.

Preliminary Hearing Felony Cases Only

After arraignment, a felony case requires a preliminary hearing before it can proceed to trial. At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution presents evidence — typically through live witness testimony — to establish probable cause that a crime was committed and that this defendant committed it.

What the defense does at a preliminary hearing

The preliminary hearing is not a full trial, but it is one of the most strategically important moments in a felony case. The defense attorney cross-examines prosecution witnesses under oath, identifies weaknesses and inconsistencies in the evidence, and may move for dismissal if the prosecution fails to establish probable cause.

A strong preliminary hearing performance can reshape the trajectory of a case — securing a charge reduction, exposing a key witness’s credibility problems, or laying the groundwork for a successful suppression motion.

Holding order

If the judge finds sufficient probable cause, the defendant is held to answer — bound over to the trial court. The case then enters the pretrial phase.

Pretrial Phase

The pretrial phase is where the bulk of criminal defense work happens. It includes:

Discovery

The prosecution is required to disclose the evidence it intends to use at trial — police reports, witness statements, lab results, surveillance footage, and any other evidence gathered during the investigation. The defense reviews this evidence in detail, looking for legal problems with how it was gathered, inconsistencies in witness accounts, and gaps in the prosecution’s case.

Pretrial Motions

The defense can file motions before trial to address specific legal issues:

• Motion to Suppress Evidence (PC 1538.5) — challenges evidence gathered through an unlawful search or seizure. If granted, the suppressed evidence cannot be used at trial. In drug and DUI cases, a successful suppression motion frequently ends the case.
• Motion to Dismiss — challenges the sufficiency of the evidence or a procedural defect in the case.
• Motion in Limine — requests that certain evidence be excluded from trial.

Plea Negotiations

Most criminal cases in California — and in Orange County — resolve through negotiated pleas rather than trial. The prosecution and defense negotiate a disposition: a specific charge, a specific sentence, or a combination of both. The quality of the negotiated outcome depends on the strength of the defense position and the attorney’s credibility and relationships in that courthouse.

Trial

If no negotiated resolution is reached, the case proceeds to trial. In California, defendants charged with felonies and most misdemeanors have the right to a jury trial — 12 jurors who must reach a unanimous verdict.

The trial process

• Jury selection (voir dire) — attorneys question potential jurors to identify and remove those who cannot be impartial
• Opening statements — each side outlines what the evidence will show
• Prosecution’s case — prosecution presents evidence and witnesses; defense cross-examines
• Defense’s case — defense presents evidence and witnesses; prosecution cross-examines
• Closing arguments — each side summarizes the evidence and argues for their position
• Jury deliberation — jury deliberates in private until a unanimous verdict is reached
• Verdict — guilty or not guilty on each charge

Bench trials

A defendant can waive the right to a jury trial and have the case decided by a judge alone. This is sometimes strategically advantageous depending on the nature of the charge and the facts of the case.

Sentencing

If the verdict is guilty or a guilty plea is entered, sentencing follows. In California, sentencing involves judicial discretion within statutory ranges — the judge selects a specific sentence within the low, mid, and high term set by the legislature for each offense.

What affects sentencing

• Aggravating and mitigating factors presented by both sides
• The defendant’s prior criminal history
• The nature and circumstances of the offense
• Character evidence — letters from family, employers, and community members
• Recommendations from the probation department
• The defense attorney’s sentencing advocacy

Forms of sentence

• State prison (felonies)
• County jail (misdemeanors, some felonies under realignment)
• Probation (formal or informal)
• Fines and assessments
• Community service
• Mandatory programs (DUI school, domestic violence program, drug treatment)
• Combination of the above

Post-Conviction Relief

A criminal conviction is not always the end of the road. California law provides several avenues for post-conviction relief:

Expungement — PC 1203.4

For qualifying defendants who have completed probation, a conviction can be dismissed under PC 1203.4 — providing significant background check benefits for employment and licensing purposes.

Felony Reduction — PC 17(b)

For wobbler offenses — charges that could be filed as either a felony or misdemeanor — a conviction can be reduced to a misdemeanor at the end of probation under PC 17(b). This restores firearm rights and materially changes how the conviction appears on background checks.

Prop 47 Reduction

Prior felony drug and theft convictions that would now qualify as misdemeanors under Proposition 47 can be petitioned for reduction. Note that Proposition 36, passed in 2024, rolled back parts of Prop 47 going forward — some drug and theft offenses can again be charged as felonies — but Prop 47 resentencing for qualifying prior convictions remains available.

Certificate of Rehabilitation

For defendants who served time in state prison and are not eligible for standard expungement, a Certificate of Rehabilitation provides official recognition of rehabilitation and can support a Governor’s Pardon application.