Forsyth County and Cumming Criminal Defense Attorney John W. Rife
HERE IS A BASIC IDEA OF WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN A "TYPICAL" CRIMINAL CASE IN FORSYTH COUNTY
FORSYTH COUNTY MAGISTRATE COURT
Just about all cases start in Forsyth County Magistrate Court. The Forsyth County Magistrate Court basically has two functions: The first is within 72 hours after you arrest, the court makes sure the accused is told about the nature of the charges against them, to set bond if they are entitled to bond. This is typically done at the Forsyth County Detention Center and is not a probable cause hearing. That is, the magistrate judge does not examine the evidence against the accused to see whether there is probable cause to hold them. There are some charges that are not allowed to have bonds set in the Forsyth County Magistrate Court.
If the accused is not bonded out of jail, they may ask for a probable cause and bond hearing. If the accused is not bonded out of jail, this is done by automatically by the Forsyth County Magistrate Judge. At this hearing, evidence is presented to see if it is more probable than not that a crime was committed, and if there is too high of a bond set, the attorney can argue to lower the bond. If there is enough evidence the case is "bound over" to the Forsyth County Superior Court.
FORSYTH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
The Forsyth County District Attorney's Office presents the accused's case to a Forsyth County grand jury for a decision about indictment.Once indicted, the next step is formal arraignment. This is a short appearance in which a plea is entered and typically motions at request of the Forsyth County district attorney's file are filed by the attorney for the accused.
The court appearances now become more frequent and the accused will sometimes feel lost in the system. The reason for this is because a majority of those appearances are called calendar calls. Calendar calls are court appearances where the accused, Forsyth County District Attorney's Office, the defense counsel, and the judge all appear in court to announce their positions about being ready for trial. In most Forsyth County Superior Court's this process occurs monthly. These appearances are in addition to motion hearings.
As the months ware on, the accused case gets farther up the docket and is called in for trial. The accused is entitled to a 12 member jury.
There are numerous avenues they can be taken that cannot be fully explained on this website. If you need assistance with a Forsyth County Felony matter contact attorney John W. Rife.
Rife Law Firm
Forsyth County Criminal Defense Law
106 Pilgrim Village DriveSuite 200
Cumming, GA 30040
Phone: (678)-331-3131
Fax: (678) 331-3132
For a free phone consultation on a Forsyth County criminal matter or to speak with an experienced attorney, call or e-mail John W. Rife.
Credit cards accepted; Free phone consultations; Payment plans available ; Located less than 2 blocks from Cumming Square; Saturday appointments available
John W. Rife, handles Forsyth County felony matters including, murder, rape, molestation, theft, drug possession, drug sales, fraud, bad checks, battery, aggravated assault, kidnapping, burglary,robbery, and white colar crimes. He is experienced in Forsyth County Criminal cases
