All About Your First Day In Court

 Posted on July 24, 2020 in Criminal Defense

What should I expect on my first day in court?

So people that don't have a lot of experience in the criminal justice system often wonder what's going to happen on my first court date. Now your first court date is generally called your arraignment and it's the first time the court has asked you to come to court and to address the criminal allegations against you. While most cases aren't and certainly shouldn't be resolved in one court setting, it's still an incredibly important part of your case.

What is the court process like?

Traffic, parking, and security all make getting to court take longer than expected. If you've ever been to the County Courthouse, you'll see these long lines in the morning, of people trying to get through security to get to their courtroom. Now what happens is eventually the judge will come out and he'll call all the names on the docket for that morning. We're gonna stand up with you, we're gonna let the judge know that we're there; we're your attorneys and that we're working on your case. Now judges don't like if you're late and will not hesitate to issue a warrant if you fail to appear.

Now security won't even let you in the courtroom if you're not appropriately dressed. So this means no flip-flops, no shorts, no tank tops and no hats. Our advice to the client is dress for court like you were dressing to go to church.

What will an attorney do on my first court hearing?

So hopefully by this point you have consulted working with a criminal defense attorney who's been working to prepare your defense. Look, the DA's office has been working on your case and working on getting conviction from the time you were arrested. At your arraignment, your attorney should be on time, prepared, answer all your questions and get you through that first court setting as quickly and painlessly as possible.

What should I do if I don't trust my attorney?

So we're certainly aware of the stress and the uneasiness that's associated with having to make an appearance in court. If you find yourself in this situation, if you find yourself needing an experienced criminal defense team, feel free to reach out to us. We are here to help.