DO I NEED A LAWYER?

If you are charged with a criminal offense, your liberty is at stake. A criminal conviction can also have a serious and long lasting impact on your eligibility for employment, housing, and certain loans. This is not the kind of legal matter that you should take on yourself.

You do have the right to represent yourself pro se, in a criminal case, but this is generally a bad idea. If you represent yourself, the court will hold you to the same standards to which it would hold a trained attorney with knowledge of court rules, criminal procedure, and rules of evidence.

The court will not assist you in defending yourself, and you may make many mistakes in the process including failing to make timely and proper objections, failing to lay proper foundation for having your own evidence admitted, overlooking legal defenses, failing to make appropriate motions, and making self-incriminating statements in open court.  To best protect your rights, you should have a trained attorney by your side at all stages of criminal proceedings.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT MY ARRAIGNMENT?

At an arraignment, you will sign a form that says that you have been advised of your constitutional rights.  These rights include your right to a jury trial, a right to a speedy trial, the right to confront witnesses who testify against you, the right to present evidence in your favor, the right to an attorney, and your remain to remain silent and not incriminate yourself.  You will also be advised that you are presumed innocent and the government has the burden of proving every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

When your name is called, you and your attorney will stand before the judge.  Your attorney will inform the judge that you have received a copy of the criminal complaint, that you have been advised of your rights and enter a plea.  The plea that is entered at an arraignment is almost always Not Guilty.  Your attorney will usually waive formal reading of the complaint and agree that there was probable cause for purposes of ARRAIGNMENT ONLY.

You will then be given your next court date, which will be a pretrial hearing.  The judge may impose certain conditions for your continued release such as no law violations, no consumption of alcohol, no driving, or no driving without and ignition interlock device (if you were charged with DUI).

SHOULD I JUST PLEAD GUILTY AND GET IT OVER WITH?

Pleading guilty at arraignment is usually a bad idea.  This is because your attorney has not had adequate time to review the evidence, research legal issues, evaluate your case, and enter into meaningful negotiations with the prosecutor.  While it is understandable that you may want to get through a possibly embarrassing ordeal as quickly as possible without the need for future court appearances, it is usually in your best interest to plead not guilty at your arraignment and give your attorney the opportunity to obtain the most favorable outcome for you, which in many cases, is a dismissal.

HOW LONG DOES THE STATE HAVE TO FILE CHARGES AGAINST ME?

The statute of limitations for filing simple misdemeanor charges is 1 year from the date of the offense.  For gross misdemeanors, the prosecutor has 2 years to file charges.  That means if you were pulled over for DUI a year ago and still have not received a summons to appear in court, the prosecutor still has another year to file charges against you.

For most felony charges, the prosecutor has 3 years to file a complaint. Identity crimes and First and Second Degree Theft have a 6-year statute of limitations.  The statute of limitations is 10 years for the crimes of Arson, and First Degree and Second Degree Rape.  This time is tolled (the clock stops running) during periods in which you are out of the state.  The prosecutor is allowed more than 6 years to file in certain serious felony cases and there is no time limit for the prosecutor to file a charge in a murder case or other felony cases in which a person is killed.

SHOULD I TAKE THE FIELD SOBRIETY TEST?

No.  You are not required by law to take field sobriety tests (the roadside tests where the officer asks you to walk a line, stand on one leg, recite the alphabet backwaards, etc.) and  there are no adverse consequences with regard to your driver’s license if you refuse these tests.  Field sobriety tests are only used by the police to get evidence and build a case against you.  You should not take these tests.

SHOULD I TAKE THE BREATH TEST?

Usually, yes, you should take the breath test.  Unlike the field sobriety tests, you will lose your driver’s license for 1 year if you refuse to take the breath test.  This is a longer license suspension than the suspension you would get for a DUI conviction, so it is generally a good idea to take the breath test and let a knowledgeable DUI lawyer challenge the admissibility of the breath test results and fight to keep them out of evidence.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I REFUSE TO TAKE A BREATH TEST?

If you refuse to take the breath test, your driver’s license will be suspended for 1 year under Washington’s implied consent law.  The prosecutor may also attempt to comment on your refusal by saying that you refused to take the test because you knew that you were guilty.

HOW MUCH JAIL TIME WILL I GET?

One of the most important questions a person facing criminal charges has on his or her mind is the likely jail/prison sentence the will receive if convicted.  This is usually impossible to answer, especially without knowing all of the details involved in your case.  There are some ways to gauge what your possible sentence could be, however.

If you are charged with a simple misdemeanor, the maximum jail sentence you can receive is 90 days.  For gross misdemeanors, the maximum sentence is 1 year.  There are also mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes such as DUI and 1st Degree Driving While License Suspended.  In these types of cases, the mandatory minimum sentence is determined by how many prior offenses you have, and in the case of DUI, how high your blood alcohol content (BAC) was.

Class C felonies are punishable up to 5 years in prison, Class B felonies are punishable up to 10 years in prison, and Class A felonies are punishable up to life in prison.  In felony cases, there is a standard sentencing range that give the judge a certain number of months that he can sentence you to.  This range is determined by your “offender score,” which is based off of your prior criminal history.

Offender scores are not used in misdemeanor sentencing, but prior criminal history will influence the prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation as well as the judge’s final decision.  Even when substantial jail or prison time is imposed, the judge may suspended some or all of the sentence as long as you abide by certain conditions for a specified period of time.

WHAT DO I DO IF THERE IS A WARRANT OUT FOR MY ARREST?

The best thing to do when there is a warrant out for your arrest is to go to the warrants calendar at the court in which your case has been filed and have the warrant “quashed”.   When you do this, the warrant will be gone and you will be given a new court date. Except for unusual circumstances, the judge usually quashes the warrant and gives you a new court date. You will be given a slip with that court date on it. Do not lose this slip; the court will not send you any further notice of your court date. Make sure you inform your attorney of the new court date.

In Seattle, you must go to the clerk’s office on the 3rd floor of the King County Courthouse on 3rd Avenue and ask to be added to the warrants calendar. Warrants are quashed every day at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 1 at the King County jail.

The judge may require you to post bail in order for the warrant to be quashed. There is always a bail bondsman present at the warrants calendar at the King County jail. If you can’t post bail, then the judge will just send you on your way with an outstanding warrant; people are rarely taken into custody at these hearings. But it does happen sometimes.

If you have a history of FTA (Failure to Appear) or your case is particularly egregious, the judge may require bail or even have you taken into custody. On the other hand, if you accidentally missed just one court date and do not have a significant criminal history or FTA history, the judge probably won’t require you to post bail or have you taken into custody. These decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

The judge will most likely just quash the warrant and give you a new court date and you won’t have to be constantly looking over your shoulder to see if a cop is behind you. But if you have a warrant out for your arrest and you chose to ignore it, you will certainly be taken into custody if you’re stopped by the police and they run a warrants check. Do not make this mistake.

DO I HAVE TO SHOW UP FOR MY TRAFFIC INFRACTION HEARING?

In most jurisdictions, if you have a lawyer, no you do not have to show up for you contested traffic infraction hearing.  Your lawyer will appear on your behalf and your presence is not required.  Some courts and/or prosecutors, however, require the defendant’s presence, so you should check with court in which your case was filed unless your attorney tells you otherwise.

THE POLICE DID NOT ADVISE ME OF MY RIGHTS WHEN THEY ARRESTED ME.  WHAT IS MY RECOURSE?

Most people are familiar with the Miranda warnings that the police often read people when they are arrested.  The police will advise the person they are arresting that they have the right to remain silent, anything they say can be used against them in court, that they have the right to a lawyer, and that a lawyer will be appointed if they cannot afford one.

The police do not always read people these rights and they are not always required to do so.  People often think that because they were not read these rights, their case can be dismissed.  This is not necessarily true.  The police are only required to read you these rights before they interrogate you while in custody.  If they don’t ask you any questions to get get evidence against you after you have already been arrested, then they do not have to read you these rights.

If the police do question you after you have been arrested and fail to read you these rights, then any statement you make to them while under arrest should be excluded from evidence and any evidence the police obtain as a result of statements you made after you were under arrest should be thrown out.

CAN I SAY NO IF THE POLICE ASK IF THEY CAN SEARCH ME, MY BELONGINGS, MY VEHICLE, OR MY HOME?

Absolutely.  If the police ask for your permission to search, it is because they are required to by law, not because they are being nice.  If the police do not have a warrant or probable cause to justify a search, they can only legally search with your consent.  If you consent to the search, then you are giving up a good chance at getting any evidence resulting from the search thrown out.  Make the police get a warrant.  Do not give them permission to search you, your belongings, your car, or your home without one.  If they have probable cause to support their belief that you have committed a crime, then they should not have to ask you for your permission.  If they ask for your consent to search, they most likely do not have probable cause and you should say no.  It is your constitutional right to be free of searches by the police without a warrant.