What happens if I am arrested for a felony in Arkansas?
Posted on September 18th, 2007 by Administrator
Most people arrested on a felony for the first time in Arkansas are confused about the process. Below is a general outline of what they can expect*:
- After arrest a law enforcement agency must bring the accused to a judge for a bond. (The one exception is that under certain circumstances a capital offense can result in someone not getting a bond)
- If you cannot make bond, and remain in jail, the prosecutor has 60 days to file charges. If charges are not filed within that time frame it does not mean that the prosecutor cannot charge you, but it does mean that you will be released pending your trial.
- If you post bond you will likely be given a call back date to see if the prosecutor has filed charges. If you have not been given a call back date the prosecutor can have you served with a summons to appear in court to answer to your felony charges. The prosecuting attorney has up to 1 year to prosecute someone for a felony charge.
- It is important to note that a prosecute does not have to file charges based on your arrest. However, as a matter of course, most charges are filed as a result of an arrest unless there was some procedural or constitutional problem with the arrest.
- Once you have been formally charged, you will go to court for your plea and arraignment. At this point you will hopefully be represented by counsel and you will either enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. As a matter of strategy and preparation, it is not common for accused persons to plead guilty at this court date. Even if a plea is beneficial to the accused it is usually necessary for the accused to enter a plea of not guilty at this court date in order for his attorney to review the case and have time to plea bargain with a prosecutor. An accused has the right to have the formal charges read to him, but as a course most persons waive this right after discussing the prosecutor’s charges with their attorney beforehand.
*This is just a general summary and is not intended to be legal advice