Dan Chambers, founder of the Chambers Law Firm, recently sat down to provide his clients and potential clients some helpful information about the procedures for both felony and misdemeanor cases via a 21-part video series.
The last video that was featured on this blog was about Misdemeanor Arraignment procedures. Your arraignment is your first court appearance, though your attorney may appear on your behalf. At the arraignment, you were provided with a copy of the complaint, the police report, you were advised of the charge(s) against you, and hopefully you entered a plea of “not guilty.” Entering this plea allows you to work with an attorney to defend yourself against the charges.
This blog article focuses on the next step in misdemeanor cases—pre-trial hearings and discovery.
What is discovery?
Discovery, in a legal setting, can be defined as the entire efforts of a person and his or her attorneys to obtain information before a trial through demands for documents, subpoenas, witness interviews, examination of the scene of the alleged crime, and all other possible methods.
Pre-trial phase
After the arraignment, in most misdemeanor cases, the pre-trial and discovery phase commences. During this phase, two important actions take place:
- The first one is that your attorney will obtain extra discovery from the district attorney’s office that was not provided to you at your arraignment.
- Then your attorney will negotiate, or at least begin negotiating, a possible resolution of your case.
Essential info about the Pre-Trial Period
It’s important for you to know that it’s often necessary to have more than one pre-trial in order to reach a successful resolution in your case. Depending on the complexity of your case, any specific issues that may arise, potential employment consequences to you, and a variety of other factors, more than one pre-trial may become necessary. It can take time to reach an ideal outcome, so please be patient as the case works its way through the pre-trial and discovery process.
Chambers Law Firm
During the discovery and pre-trial phase, Dan Chambers and his staff at the Chambers Law Firm will begin investigating your case, and if necessary, engaging the appropriate professionals, private investigators, potential other experts to provide you with an effective defense and uncover any other discovery that needs to be provided.
The pre-trial and discovery phase is an essential step in your misdemeanor procedural process, and here at the Chambers Law Firm, we take it very seriously, as we do every other step in your misdemeanor or felony case.
Free case evaluation
If you’re facing a criminal charge in Southern California, don’t hesitate to schedule a free case evaluation with attorney Dan Chambers by calling 714-760-4088, emailing dchambers@clfca.com, or by using the chat box at the bottom right of this page. We proudly offer legal assistance in both English and Spanish.
The next video in this 21-part series is about the trial phase for a misdemeanor charge. We hope these informational videos are helpful to you—and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about your specific case.
