By: Mark Collins and Scott Shoemaker

• Reach out as soon as get call to get info prior to charge being filled
• Sit down with grand jury prosecutor
• Have 10 days unless waive
• Direct indictment
◦ 10 days
◦ Never break in custody
◦ Going off initial info
• Indirect indictment
◦ Arrested at scene then released
◦ Gather info and send to grand jury
◦ Prosecutors can issue warrants even after bond
‣ Prepare clients
‣ Conduct is important
• Preliminary hearing
◦ Determines probable cause
◦ No probable cause is called a no bill
◦ Yes is true bill
• Waive preliminary hearing
◦ Gain time
• Indictment= formal notice that someone is believed guilty that specifies time and means of
offense
◦ Want to take care of at this stage
◦ Can amend until trial
◦ Cannot change nature and circumstances
• Bill of particular
◦ Additional info request
• Bill of information= negotiate plea agreement with prosecutor office
• Bond process
◦ Approach someone in the unit directly and ask to get a bond set and say why
• Different in federal courts, when they knock on clients door case is done
◦ Initial appearance: find out about case
◦ No bonds
◦ Call pretrial services
◦ Gain credibility and be in there asap
• Know your judges
• Be proactive
• Defective warrant in municipal court
• Dismissed for future indictment= not going away forever, have 6 years
• Ask client to testify in front of jury (15 citizens)
◦ Get client ready
• Know when grand jury meets
• Arraignment= reading of criminal charge in front of defendant to inform of charges against
them
• Once indicted randomly get a common police judge in 2 days
◦ Understand who it is and start case from there
• In federal once indicted it's go time
• Phases: Pre trial, trial, sentences
• Make sure clients hear you advocating even if you know it will be denied
• Client control
• Get client in front of judge to get an idea of what’s going on
• Open discovery process: everything is turned over to defense and prosecutor
◦ Have everything each other has
◦ Helps client believe things too
‣ Can ask prosecutor to come in and talk with client to better explain things
◦ To protect witness, stamped counsel only cannot show defendant
• E file for discovery
◦ “The matrix” example of case management software
◦ Read carefully, maybe you have something to pick up
• Federal courts are more formal and have non negotiable time lines
• Computer data
◦ Ask client to save time going through things
◦ Call expert
◦ Texts are saved for 10 days by phone companies and who you texted for about a year
◦ “A terabyte of documents is 29 tractors trailers of paper”
‣ Save law enforcement time
◦ When you get a case immediately check socials
• Non violent first time offender must be screen for diversion in diversion in Franklin county
◦ One year program

• Motion in limine (should be used more by defense)

◦ Testimony be excluded
◦ Inclusion of evidence
◦ Excluded things like use of terms as well
• Joinder
◦ Codefendant cases
◦ Several parties in one lawsuit
◦ In front of judge at same time
• Lafler hearing
◦ Records offer and guidelines for sentences
◦ First time client talks to judge
◦ Always want to make offer on record to prevent issues later on
◦ Talk to family
◦ Take seriously will not get another offer
• Competency (checking for insanity and competency)
◦ Order evaluation
◦ Pretrial phase
◦ About 6 weeks to prepare report
◦ Psychological info that can help defense counsel
◦ If against you, can ask court for another one/opinion to get more info (court pays for
2)
‣ If sitting in jail off meds, good reason to order
• prosecutor might not call someone you expect
◦ Ex police officers
◦ Good relationships are important with prosecutors
• Polygraphs
◦ Stipulated
‣ Results are final, if against you will be used
‣ Can get case dismissed
◦ Prepare client
◦ Great took to prove credibility and resolve cases
Trial phase
• Know your judge
◦ Federal courts have their procedure on website so know judges procedure
◦ Every judge is different
• Find out when judges start to plan
• Check in each day
• Make sure nothing is a surprise
◦ Make sure witnesses are available
◦ Plan ahead of time
• Don’t be afraid of asking for a bench trial
◦ Waives jury just judge
◦ Give up appellate rights
◦ Make sure to contemplate
• Dismissal by prosecutor: if finds new evidence can bring charges back
• Court dismissal: cannot bring back
• Prosecutor signs plea form first then defense attorney then client them judge reviews with
defendant on the record then accepts the plea
• Plea :guilty or not guilty
Sentencing
• 4-6 week gap between plea and sentencing
• Make sure client takes responsibility and why it won’t happen in the future
◦ Takes a lord of work to get client ready
• Probation officer will investigate and write a report and this meeting with the client requires
to get the client ready
◦ Check with officer to help with options
• Tell your client ahead of time about drug tests
• Have a plan for client to tell officer
• Have client ready to apologize, showing genuine remorse gets them far
• Be realistic with client, don’t tell them what they want to hear
• Probation pre sentence investigation (PSI)
◦ Background for court
◦ Read in advance
◦ Writer makes a recommendation only judge sees
◦ Initial ranking is in here
• Make sure pays restitution (money)
◦ Wants to see good faith effort
• Victim has the right to be present and address the court
 ◦ Make sure your client is ready to properly respond
Litigation
• Explain why something happened
◦ Not excusing conduct but using background to explain cause
• In death penalty cases litigation is first, present mitigation for decision
• Mitigation: goal of reducing sentences, story telling part