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Overview of CT Criminal Justice Process

State Specific- CT - Legal Guide on the Connecticut Criminal Justice Process written by attorney Kevin Murray Smith on November 7th, 2010. 

5 Things You Need to Know About Your First Court Appearance

General - A guide to your first court appearance. This was written for people in Wyoming, but it applies to every state. 

Failure to Appear in Court

If you are charged with a crime or issued a traffic ticket, you may be ordered to appear in court. Depending on the charges, you may be required to appear several times during a criminal case – for an arraignment, pre-trial conference, hearing, trial, sentencing, or other proceeding. A summons or notice to appear is a court order. If you do not appear as ordered, you have violated the court order and may face serious consequences, even criminal charges.

Initial Hearing / Arraignment

Information from the DOJ on initial court appearances.

What Happens in a Federal Criminal Case

Federal Specific - A general description of what happens in a federal criminal case.

5 Things You Need to Know About Your First Court Appearance

General - A guide to your first court appearance. This was written for people in Wyoming, but it applies to every state. 

NY Criminal Justice System: How It Works

State Specific - NY - The criminal justice process is complex, and often can be confusing to persons not familiar with criminal law.  This arrest-to-sentence guide and legal glossary are designed to explain and clarify the criminal justice process in New York County.

Court Process

General - This is an outline of the course a criminal case involving a felony, such as rape, follows through the court systems. Although you, as a witness, are not involved at every step, it can help you understand your role and the way the criminal justice system works by reviewing this information.

Arraignments

State Specific - NY - The arraignment is the first time you go to court in front of a Judge. At the arraignment, you are told what the charges are against you and what your rights are, like the right to a trial and the right to have an attorney appointed for you if you don’t have the money to hire one.

How Courts Work: Pre-Trial Appearances

It’s especially difficult to generalize about this subject, since so much depends on a particular state’s procedures, whether it typically uses a grand jury to bring charges, etc. Here’s the procedure used with some variations in many states in which a prosecutor files charges without a grand jury.

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