You will come to the federal court either by a summons or in the custody of federal law enforcement agents.  The charges against you will be written in a criminal complaint or indictment accompanied by an affidavit that summarizes the evidence against you.

There are no District Attorney's or "DAs" in federal court.  The prosecutor appearing for the government is called an "Assistant United States Attorney" or "AUSA."

If you are seeking the assistance of a Deputy Federal Public Defender at the court’s expense, you must first complete a financial affidavit of your income and expenses to submit under penalty of perjury to a United States Magistrate Judge.   The magistrate judge will determine whether you have sufficient assets to hire your own counsel. If the judge determines you cannot afford the fees that a private attorney would charge in a case like yours, the judge will appoint an attorney to represent you.  If you have sufficient funds, the judge may continue your case for a reasonable time so that you can find and retain your own attorney.

Your first two or three appearances will be in front of a federal magistrate judge, but ultimately your case will be heard by a federal district court judge. The magistrate judge will advise you of the charges against you, explain your rights, and tell you the longest amount of prison time that a defendant found guilty of your charge could possibly receive.  This sentence is called the “statutory maximum,” and it is rarely the actual sentence that is given.

The magistrate will then turn to the issue of pretrial release or bail.  You will be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the conclusion of their first hearing unless you are released.

The detention hearing is a proceeding in federal court where a federal magistrate judge decides whether or not to release a defendant on bond to await the trial.

An arraignment is a court proceeding in which a defendant is brought into court, told of the charges in an indictment or information, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.

If you are in custody, you are entitled to a preliminary hearing or arraignment within 10 days of your initial appearance.  If your initial appearance resulted in your release from custody, you are entitled to a preliminary hearing or arraignment within 20 days. See Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 5.1.  The Central District of California has federal grand juries available at all times, so you will likely have an arraignment hearing instead of having a preliminary hearing.

An indictment is a formal charging document that contains all of the crimes the federal government has charged you with.  An indictment is reviewed by a grand jury in a grand jury proceeding.  If there is sufficient evidence to force you to face those charges, the grand jury will “sign off” or “return” the indictment.  There can be many indictments brought in one case.  The later indictments are called “superceding indictments.”

Under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 USC § 3161 et seq, a case is supposed to proceed to trial within 70 days of arraignment on an indictment or information. Some felony cases resolve very quickly, within a month or two from the first appearance.  Most felony cases, however, take much longer. Complicated conspiracy and fraud cases, for example, can often take much longer. Delays can come from the need to review discovery, interview witnesses, bring and argue motions, negotiate plea agreements, and prepare for trial.  The average felony case in the Central District takes one year from the arraignment to sentencing. Your attorney will discuss the timing of your case with you and explain why any delays or continuances might be necessary in your case.

Prior to your first hearing, a member of the court's Pretrial Services Office will speak to you and as many of your family members as possible.  The officer will file a report with the judge, prosecutor, and defense counsel with recommendations of whether the judge should release you and under what conditions. However, this officer’s recommendation is not binding on the judge.

The law presumes that you should not be held in prison while awaiting your trial.   Unless the judge determines that you might endanger the safety of another person in the community or that you might not appear for trial if you are released on bond, you will be released on your own personal recognizance or with an unsecured personal bond.  An unsecured personal bond does not require money or assets as security.

There are exceptions to the presumption that a defendant should be released while awaiting trial.  For example, usually the judge will not release you if there is probable cause that you used a firearm to commit a felony or that you committed a federal drug offense carrying a penalty of 10 or more years.  The law specifies certain other crimes which are exceptions to the presumption to release you .  If you were convicted of or you are presently accused of those crimes, the judge must find that some condition or combination of conditions of release will ensure your appearance at trial and safeguard the community.  Examples of these conditions are requiring a secured bond, restricting your travel, and monitoring you electronically.  The judge must choose the least restrictive conditions for what is reasonable in your case to protect the safety of the community and ensure that you will appear in court.

The magistrate judge’s decision to release or detain you in prison while you await trial can be reviewed by a federal district court judge on the motion of either party.  This is a like an appeal though it is not called an "appeal."  The detention orders of a district judge may be appealed to a federal court of appeals.

A judge releasing you on bond might put certain restrictions on your release.  You may be required to secure your bond with money or an asset.  You may have to forfeit your passport.  Some judges restrict your location with electronic monitoring or require you to remain in your home.  A judge must choose the least restrictive conditions limited by what is reasonable in your case to protect the safety of the community and ensure that you will appear in court.

The magistrate judge’s decision to release or detain you in prison while you await trial can be reviewed by a federal district court judge on the motion of either party.  This is a like an appeal though it is not called an "appeal."  The detention orders of a district judge may be appealed to a federal court of appeals.

There are two definitions of “bail or bond.”  If you are released prior to your trial under specified conditions designed to ensure your appearance in court, you are out on “bail or bond.”  But assets or money you post are also considered your “bail or bond,” a promise that you will release the asset if you fail to appear in court.

There is no fixed bail schedule in federal court.  A magistrate judge releases you on conditions sufficient to ensure your continued appearance in court.  Conditions and the amount of bail can vary dramatically depending on the seriousness of the charges against you, your criminal history, and your financial circumstances.

Bail bondsmen are rarely used in federal court.  Your defense attorney can give you and your family a better feel for the conditions of release that might be required in your case. The more you can show you have family and community support, the more likely your release will be granted in your case.

In most cases, federal pretrial release can be satisfied with a mixture of assets, principally cash or equity in a home.  Your defense attorney will meet with your family and friends to discuss different options for meeting your bond amount.

Equity in the house, the amount the house is worth minus the amount that is owed on the mortgage or mortgages, must be sufficient to cover your bond amount.  Your defense attorney can assist with the paperwork to transfer a house for bail. At minimum, posting a house for bail usually requires a recent appraisal of the house, a copy of all title and mortgage documents, and a deed made out to the clerk of the district court.  Family and friends can help speed up the process by giving your attorney all documents relating to the home, including the most recent mortgage statement, a recent property appraisal or property tax bill, and the grant deed.

Click here for additional information on bond posting procedures.  

In most cases, federal pretrial release can be satisfied with a mixture of assets:  principally cash, homes, other real estate, and cars. The Deputy Federal Public Defender will be glad to meet with your family and friends to discuss different options for meeting the bond amount set in your case.

The Deputy Federal Public Defender or appointed panel attorney can help your family member or friend prepare the paperwork necessary to transfer a house to secure a bond.  There are several documents required to post a house, including a recent appraisal (to establish market value of the property), a copy of the grant deed (to establish title holder); the latest mortgage statement (to establish the equity in the home), and a recorded short form deed of trust, which will be recorded in the county where the property is located.  Additional documentation, may be required to complete posting of the property, including signing the appropriate affidavit of surety form.  Typically, the process to transfer the house takes two or three days to two weeks to complete.

If you are released on bond from Roybal Court, you will leave custody from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles.  There are no specific release times, but most occur between 5:00pm and 8:00pm.  The address of the MDC is 535 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, and the telephone number is (213) 485-0439.  The U.S. Marshal's Office is responsible for getting your release order from Roybal Court to MDC.

Any property you had at the time you were arrested will be returned to you when you are released from custody unless it is considered evidence.  If your personal property is considered evidence in the case against you, the United States Attorney will let you and your defense attorney know why the property is being kept and whether it will be returned.

You will need to arrange for your own transportation home.

You may be released to the custody of Pretrial Services.  Depending on the bond conditions ordered by the court, an officer of Pretrial Services will take you where you need to go. 

Pretrial Services will pick you up from prison and take you to your drug treatment program or halfway house as ordered by the judge.  The release to Pretrial Services might not happen the same day you are released.  You may have to wait for the availability of the Pretrial Services Officer or of bed space at the treatment program or halfway house.

The magistrate judge may impose conditions on you including electronic monitoring, travel restrictions, home detention, drug testing, etc.  When you are released on bond, you will most likely have to surrender your passport. You will also be required to periodically check in with your pretrial supervisor officer.

“Discovery” is evidence which supports the charges against you and an increased sentence.  Examples of discovery are crime scene photographs, an informant’s name and background, DNA samples, drug test results, and fingerprints.  “Discovery” can be five pages long, consisting of a rap sheet and a police report. It can also be hundreds of thousands of pages of documents in a complex fraud case.

In a criminal case one of the defense attorney’s first tasks is to ask for discovery from the government. Defendants have the right to see all discovery provided by the government.  In very rare exceptions sensitive information relating to a protected witness will be kept from a defendant’s view. 

Yes.

There is an enormous variety of pretrial motions in a federal case.  Some of the most common filed by the defense ask the court to relocate the trial to a different venue, or to prevent the government from introducing certain evidence at trial, or to compel the government to share evidence with the defense.

The defense’s first  motion is called  the “moving papers” or “opening brief.”  A prosecutor usually has one to three weeks to respond to the motion with an “opposition.”  The defense then typically has one or two weeks to respond to the “opposition” with a “reply.”  One to two weeks later, the court usually hears argument on the motion.  Sometimes, on a separate date, the court will hold an hearing to resolve any disputed facts.

Over 90 percent of federal defendants plead guilty in exchange for the prosecution dropping some of the charges or recommending a more lenient sentence.  

The plea agreement is a written contract  between you and the prosecution.  It does not bind the judge.  It is prepared by the prosecutor and outlines facts describing what you admit you did as well as any charges the prosecutor dropped.

The court will take your plea agreement into account in determining your sentence but may decide to impose a higher sentence.  You cannot withdraw your guilty plea just because the judge has imposed a sentence higher than your plea agreement unless one of its terms allows withdrawal of your guilty plea.

Your defense attorney is ethically required to inform you of every plea offer made by the government.  You can expect your attorney to describe the terms of the plea agreement and discuss your sentencing exposure if you proceed to trial given the good and bad evidence in your case.  You should only plead guilty if the plea agreement is in your best interest and that decision is yours alone.

The decision to go to trial is yours, but only a small percentage of federal defendants decide to go to trial.

A federal defendant with a court-appointed attorney typically has a trial which lasts three days to a week.  Some trials last longer.

If you decide to accept the plea agreement, your defense attorney will advise the prosecutor of your decision.  You will sign a document prepared by the prosecutor outlining facts describing what you admit you did as well as any charges the prosecutor dropped.

At this hearing the judge will conduct what is known as the “plea colloquy.”   The judge will inform you of the rights you gave up by pleading guilty and the crimes you are admitting that you committed.  The judge will question you under oath about your involvement in the crime.  If the judge determines from your answers that you are not guilty, the judge will not accept your plea.  The case will then proceed to trial.  Usually the judge accepts your plea and sets a date for sentencing generally twelve weeks after the plea hearing.  The judge will ask the Probation Office to prepare a presentence report.  (See the Sentencing Section for more information on the presentence report).

It is your right to testify or not testify.  If you choose not to testify, it cannot be held against you by the jury. The judge will tell the jury about that rule.  You have a right to "confront” or cross-examine government witnesses and can use the subpoena power of the court to secure evidence or witnesses for your trial.

You have no burden.  It is the prosecutor’s burden to prove every element of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.  You will only be found guilty of a charge if a jury of 12 people unanimously find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of every element of the crime.

If you are in custody, it is the Marshal’s duty to transfer you to the originating jurisdiction.  If you are out on bond, you must travel to the originating jurisdiction yourself.  However, there is a statute -- 18 U.S.C. § 4285 -- which the magistrate judge can use to order the marshal to pay for your transportation.  You should discuss this with your Deputy Federal Public Defender.

An out-of-district case can be transferred to this district under Rule 20 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, but only if (1) you want to plead guilty and (2) both the United States Attorney’s office in this district and the United States Attorney’s office in the district in which you are charged agree to the transfer.  If you want to fight the case or either United States Attorney’s office is unwilling to agree, the case generally cannot be transferred to this district.  And the case can be transferred under this rule only so long as you are present in this district, either while you are here in custody before you are sent back to the other district or while you are residing here while out of custody.

Another rule which allows transfer, but is applied only very rarely, is Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.  That rule allows transfer of a case for trial if a judge in the district in which the defendant is charged finds it is more convenient for both parties (including the government) and the witnesses.  It is very rare for this rule to be used to transfer a case, and it can be done only once you return to the charging district and your attorney in that district makes a motion which is granted by the court in that district.     

If you are accused of violating your pretrial release conditions, the court will hold a hearing regarding the alleged violation and may either place you in custody, modify the conditions of your release, or take no action at all.  The judge must find probable cause that you committed a new crime or clear and convincing evidence that you violated a condition of your release before revoking your release.  Then either the court on its own motion or the prosecutor may move to forfeit your bond.

Please see the attached Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint form.  For additional information, please contact the Court Clerk's Office at (213) 894-8288.

The dress code in federal courts is business casual.  Out of respect for the judge and proceedings, you should not wear shorts, halters, tank tops, any clothing exposing the midriff or underclothing, beachwear, sandals, or t-shirts with inappropriate graphics or wording.

If you do not own appropriate clothing or are unsure if your outfit is appropriate, discuss it with your defense attorney.

Yes.  Family support of a criminal defendant is critical, and we strongly encourage family members to attend hearings of their loved ones. 

Visitors to the courtroom cannot speak or communicate in any way with a defendant in custody.

Yes, but every effort should be made to keep young children quiet while court is in session.  Some courtroom topics may be inappropriate for young children.

When you enter the courthouse, you will go through a metal detector. Your handbag, briefcase, backpack, and any containers may be x-rayed.  Metal objects including knitting needles, scissors, nail clippers, pocket knives, and any kind of weapon, are not permitted and will be confiscated.  Alcoholic beverages are not permitted.  You may not use electronic recording devices inside the courthouse except in designated media areas.  The use of cameras, camera phones and recording devices inside the courtroom is prohibited.  Security officers may confiscate any items they think are hazardous. If you have forbidden items, you may be asked to leave the courthouse and return without them.

Yes. Please remember to turn off your cellular phones and pagers before entering the courtroom.  The use of cameras, camera phones and recording devices inside the courtroom is prohibited.  These rules are strictly enforced by the court and the U.S. Marshals.