How a criminal case works in San Diego County

Step 1: The arrest, and the first 48 hours

Most cases are decided by what happens before the first court date. If you're arrested, you'll either be booked and released on a citation with a court date, or held until arraignment, which must happen within 48 hours, not counting weekends and court holidays (Penal Code § 825). During that window officers may try to interview you. You have the right to say "I want a lawyer" and nothing else, and it costs you nothing to use it.

If you were cited and released, the court date on the citation may be weeks away. That time is an advantage: it lets us get the police report, talk to witnesses while memories are fresh, and, in some cases, talk to the prosecutor before charges are even filed.

Step 2: Arraignment and bail

At arraignment the charges are read, you enter a plea (almost always not guilty at this stage), and the judge decides whether you're released on your own recognizance, on bail, or with conditions like a stay-away order or alcohol monitoring. After the California Supreme Court's Humphrey decision, judges must consider your ability to pay; a prepared attorney with a release plan (job, family, no record) often gets a client out without money bail. This is also when we receive the initial police reports.

Step 3: Discovery and our own investigation

The prosecution must turn over the evidence: reports, body-camera video, 911 calls, lab results, witness statements. We read all of it and then do what the police didn't: interview witnesses, pull surveillance footage before it's erased, check the calibration records on a breath machine, and look for every place the officers cut a corner. In San Diego County, cases are won in this phase far more often than at trial.

Step 4: Pretrial motions

If the stop, search, or interrogation was illegal, we file a motion under Penal Code § 1538.5 to suppress the evidence. If the charging document is defective, we move to dismiss. If the prosecution is withholding evidence, we make them produce it. A granted suppression motion frequently ends the case, because without the evidence there is nothing to prosecute.

Step 5: Negotiation and diversion

Most cases resolve without trial, but the deal you get depends on the leverage you have, which is why we do steps 3 and 4 first. Options include a reduction from felony to misdemeanor on a "wobbler," a plea to a lesser charge, or diversion: mental-health, drug, military, or judicial diversion for many misdemeanors, where completing a program ends the case with no conviction. We tell you honestly whether an offer is good or whether the case is worth fighting.

Step 6: The preliminary hearing (felonies)

In a felony case, the prosecution must show a judge there is probable cause to hold you for trial. It's a short hearing, but it's the first time the officers testify under oath and are cross-examined, and it locks in their story. Charges are sometimes reduced or dismissed here, and what we learn shapes everything after.

Step 7: Trial

If the case doesn't resolve, it's tried to a jury of twelve, and all twelve must agree to convict. Vincent has tried cases in California courts for nearly 40 years. The prosecution's burden is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and a case that looked strong on paper often looks different when the witnesses are in the box.

Step 8: Sentencing, probation, and cleaning up the record

If there is a conviction, sentencing is its own fight: probation instead of custody, alternatives like work release or electronic monitoring, and terms you can actually live with. Afterward, Penal Code § 1203.4 lets many convictions be dismissed once probation is done, and newer laws clear some records automatically. We plan for that from the start, because the plea you take today decides what can be cleaned up later.

How long it takes and what it costs

A misdemeanor that resolves at or soon after arraignment can be over in weeks. A contested felony in San Diego County commonly takes six to twelve months. Fees depend on the charge and how far the case goes; we quote a flat fee for most cases at the consultation so there are no surprises.