California
Superior Criminal Court Rights
1.
You have the right to
be furnished a copy of the complaint,
and you have a right to have the
charges explained to you.
2.
You have a right to
an attorney at all stages of the proceedings.
3.
You have a right to a
continuance to obtain an attorney, if you want one.
4.
If you
are unable to
hire an attorney due to lack of sufficient funds or property,
the Court
will appoint one for you at no cost to you.
At
the conclusion of
your case and after a hearing, if the Court determines you have the
ability to pay, you can be ordered to pay all or part of the cost of
the attorney.
This order has the same
effect as a civil judgment and is subject to execution.
5.
You have a right to
reasonable bail set by the Court.
If you are not able to
post the bail set, the Court will review the amount of bail within five
days of your court date upon your request at which time any new facts
will be considered.
6.
You have a right to
use the power of the Court to subpoena witnesses and present
evidence
in your own behalf.
7.
You have a right to
confront and cross-examine the witnesses against you.
8.
You have a right
against self-incrimination, which means you cannot be required
to
testify against yourself.
You
may waive this right
and testify in your own behalf if you wish.
9.
You may plead guilty,
not guilty, or nolo contendere
(no contest).
Nolo contendere
is the same in legal effect as a plea of guilty but cannot be
used
against you as an admission in any civil suit when the plea of nolo contendere is
used for a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or infraction.
If
you are charged with
a misdemeanor, you also have the following rights:
1.
You have a right to a
trial by jury, or you may waive this right and request a Court Trial.
2.
You have a right to a
speedy trial, which means within thirty days following arraignment, if
you are in custody; or, within forty-five days following arraignment,
if you are not in custody.
If you are not brought
to trial within the time stated your case must be dismissed, unless
good cause is otherwise shown.
3.
You have a right to
wait at least six hours before sentence is imposed after a plea of
guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or conviction following trial;
sentence must be imposed within five days, or within twenty-one days if
the matter is referred to the Adult Probation Department unless you
waive that right.
If
you are charged with
an infraction, you have the same rights as you would if charged
with a
misdemeanor except that you have a right to a Court trial and no right
to a trial by jury.
You
have no right to a
court appointed attorney unless you are in custody.
If
you plead guilty or nolo contendere to
a misdemeanor or infraction crime you wave your right to trial by jury
and trial by court, your right to see and cross-examine witnesses
against you, your right against self-incrimination and also your right
to an attorney unless you have an attorney then.
If
you are charged with
a felony, you have a right to a preliminary hearing within ten
court
days following your arraignment or plea, whichever occurs later.
If
you are not a
citizen, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or a conviction following trial may
result in your deportation, exclusion or admission to the United
States, or denial of naturalization
pursuant
to the laws of the United States.
DUI information
for the following California
counties: Alameda, Alpine,
Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado,
Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los
Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono,
Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento,
San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San
Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta,
Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity,
Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba
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