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1. WHAT RIGHTS DO I HAVE?
Answer:
Whether you are an adult citizen or non-citizen,
you have certain rights if you are arrested.
Before the law enforcement officer questions
you, he or she should tell you that:
You have the right to remain silent. Anything
you say may be used against you. You have a
right to have a lawyer present while you are
questioned. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one
will be appointed for you. These are your
"Miranda" rights, guaranteed by the U.S.
Constitution. If you are not given these
warnings, your lawyer can ask that any
statements you made to the police not be used
against you in court. But this does not
necessarily mean that your case will be
dismissed. This does not apply if you volunteer
information without being questioned by the
police.
2. ONCE I AM TOLD MY RIGHTS, CAN I BE
QUESTIONED?
Answer:
You can be questioned, without a lawyer present,
only if you voluntarily give up your rights and
if you understand what you are giving up. If you
agree to the questioning, then change your mind,
questioning must stop as soon as you say that
you want a lawyer. If the questioning continues
after you request a lawyer and you continue to
talk, your answers can be used against you if
you testify to something different.
You may be required to give certain physical
evidence. For example, if you are suspected of
driving under the influence of alcohol you may
be requested to take a test to measure the
amount of alcohol in your system. If you refuse
to take the test, your driver's license will be
suspended and the refusal will be used against
you in court.
Once you are booked, meaning your arrest is
written into official police records and you are
fingerprinted and photographed, you have a right
to make and complete three telephone calls that
are free within the local dialing area.
3. WHEN SHOULD I SEE A LAWYER?
Answer:
If you are arrested for a crime, particularly a
serious one, you should contact a lawyer as soon
as possible. He or she has a better sense of
what you should and should not say to law
enforcement officers to avoid being
misinterpreted or misunderstood. The lawyer also
can advise you or your family or friends on the
bail process. There is no substitute for a good
Georgia criminal defense lawyer.
4. WHO CAN ARREST ME?
Answer:
All law enforcement officers - such as police
officers, county sheriff officers, investigators
in a district attorney's or an attorney
general's offices and highway patrol officers -
can arrest you whether they are on or off duty,
in most cases. A probation or parole officer
also can arrest you.
They can arrest you - even if they do not have
an arrest warrant - if they have probable cause
or good reason to believe you committed a
felony, such as armed robbery. (A felony is a
crime of a more serious nature than a
misdemeanor, usually punishable by imprisonment
for more than a year.) They do not have to see
you commit a felony in order to arrest you. They
do, however, have to see you commit a
misdemeanor in order to arrest you.
If you commit an infraction, instead of taking
you into custody, they may ask to sign a
citation or notice. This is a minor offense,
such as a moving violation, where the punishment
usually is a fine. If you sign the citation, you
are not admitting guilt; you are only promising
to appear in court. If you have no
identification or refuse to sign, however, an
officer may take you into custody.
5. CAN SOMEONE OTHER THAN A POLICE OFFICER
ARREST ME?
Answer:
Any person, such as a private security guard,
can make a citizen's arrest if they see a
misdemeanor being attempted or committed. (A
misdemeanor is a criminal offense, usually
punishable with a fine or short jail term.) They
also can make a legal arrest for a felony as
long as it actually was committed and they have
good reason to believe you did it. They must
take you to a police officer or judge who is
required by law to take you into custody.
6. WHEN IS AN ARREST WARRANT USED?
Answer:
Usually a warrant is required before you can be
taken into custody in your home. But you can be
arrested at home without a warrant if fast
action is needed to prevent you from escaping,
destroying evidence, endangering someone's life
or seriously damaging property.
The warrant must be signed by a magistrate or
judge, who must have good reason to believe that
you, whom the warrant names, committed a crime.
If your name is unknown, "John Doe" can be used
on the warrant - along with your description.
Once an arrest warrant is issued, any law
enforcement officer in the state can arrest you
- even if the officer does not have a copy of
the warrant. Generally, there is no time limit
on using a warrant to make an arrest.
Before entering your home, a law enforcement
officer must knock and identify himself or
herself and tell you that you are going to be
arrested. If you refuse to open the door - or if
there is another good reason - the officer can
break in through a door or window.
If the police have an arrest warrant, you should
be allowed to see it. If they don't have the
warrant with them, you should be allowed to see
it as soon as practical.
The police may search the area within your
reach. If you are arrested outdoors, they may
not search your home or car.
Resisting an arrest or detention is a crime. If
you resist arrest, you can be charged with a
misdemeanor or felony in addition to the crime
for which you are being arrested. If you resist,
an officer can use force to overcome your
resistance or prevent your escape. The officer
can even use deadly force if it appears you will
use force to cause great bodily injury.
7. WHEN CAN I BE RELEASED?
Answer:
If, during the questioning and before a charge
is filed, the police are convinced that you have
not committed a crime, they will give you a
written release. Your arrest then will be
considered a detention and not recorded as an
arrest.
8. WHAT IS BAIL AND HOW IS IT SET?
Answer:
The amount of bail - money or other security
deposited with the court to insure that you will
appear - is set by a schedule in each county.
You may be notified that you can forfeit or give
up bail instead of appearing in court if you
receive a traffic citation. However, if you have
any doubt, go to court so a warrant is not
issued for your arrest for failing to appear.
Bail forfeiture does not apply to misdemeanors
or felonies. Forfeiting bail does not mean that
the charges are dropped and usually works as a
conviction for a traffic offense.
A Magistrate at the jail will usually set bail
or you maybe held for a Judge to set bail. If
you cannot post or put up the bail, you will be
kept in custody. Depending on where you are
arrested, you may have the opportunity to
request a bail reduction from a Judge.
When you are taken to court for bail setting or
release, the judge will consider the seriousness
of the offense you are charged with, any prior
failures to appear (even for traffic tickets),
any previous record, your connections to the
community, as well as the probability that you
will appear in court. The amount of bail is set
according to a written schedule based on your
charges. The law presumes you are guilty of the
charges for purposes of setting bail or release.
Instead of paying bail, you might be released on
your own recognizance or "O.R." (or supervised
O.R.). This means that you do not have to pay
bail because the judge believes that you will
show up for court appearances without bail.
9. WHO MAINTAINS ARREST RECORDS AND WHAT DO THEY
INCLUDE?
Answer:
Local police departments and the Judiciary keep
arrest records. Your past criminal record maybe
in a national data bank. The arrest record
includes when and why you were arrested, whether
the charges against you were dropped or whether
you were convicted of the charges, and the
subsequent sentence imposed. Both pleading
guilty and being found guilty after a trial
count as convictions.
If you are convicted of committing a
misdemeanor, placed on probation and stay out of
trouble, you are able to have the conviction
removed from your record for such purposes as
employment background checks. This is often
called "probation before verdict".
10. WHAT HAPPENS AT AN ARRAIGNMENT?
Answer:
You have a right to be arraigned without
unnecessary delay - usually within a short
period of time- after being arrested. You will
appear before a judge who will tell you
officially of the charges against you at your
first arraignment. At the arraignment, an
attorney may be appointed for you if you cannot
afford one, and bail can be raised or lowered.
You also can ask to be released on P.R., even if
bail was previously set.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you can
plead guilty or not guilty at the arraignment.
Or, if the court approves, you can plead nolo
contendere, meaning that you will not contest to
the charges. Legally this is the same as a
guilty plea, but it cannot be used against you
in a non-criminal case, unless the charge can be
punished as a felony.
Before pleading guilty to some first-time
offenses, such as drug use or possession in
small amounts for personal use, you may want to
find out if your county has any drug diversion
programs. Under these programs, instead of
fining you or sending you to jail, the court may
order you to get counseling which can result in
dismissal of the charges if you complete the
counseling.
If misdemeanor charges are not dropped, a trial
will be held later in municipal court. If you
are charged with a felony, however, and the
charges are not dropped, the next step is a
preliminary hearing.
11. WHAT HAPPENS AT A PRELIMINARY HEARING?
Answer:
During the preliminary inquiry or hearing,
usually within a short period after arrest, the
States Attorney's office must present evidence
showing a reasonable suspicion that a felony was
committed and that you did it to convince the
judge that you should be brought to trial.
In lesser offenses in the District Court of
Georgia the preliminary inquiry is only to find
out if you have an attorney and understand the
charge. This hearing is often waived if your
attorney enters his appearance in your case.
If you are charged with a crime and unable to
understand English, you have a right to an
interpreter throughout the proceedings.
When you have been charged in Georgia with a
drunk driving dwi or other criminal matter you
need an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
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