For the most part, the client makes contact with a police officer either immediately after the alleged offense occurred, during the offense, or days or weeks later. An alleged victim and/or eyewitnesses may be involved prior to this contact, but ultimately the police and the client make some sort of contact. From there, the police department will write up a report, and if the facts are warranted for review, the police department will submit the case to a prosecutor who will review the facts of the case, and determine if this person should be charged, and if so, what charges. This hand-over from the police to the prosecutor could be within 24 hours or multiple months, depending upon the extent of the investigation.
If the prosecutor determines that charges are warranted, they will submit a warrant to a judge to review and sign, and the client becomes officially charged with a crime(s). If it’s a felony, an arrest warrant will be issued, and the client could be arrested at any time. If the charge is a misdemeanor, an arrest warrant can be issued or a notice will be sent in the mail to the client, and an attorney if the client has hired one.
It is quite common for a police officer to submit the facts of a case to the prosecutor, which results in the prosecutor telling the police officer that he/she needs further investigation before a decision can be made. In the prosecutor world this is called “furthered”. This means that at the present time, the prosecutor does not have enough to submit charges, and the police officer is given the task of filling in the missing information. If after additional investigation is conducted, the prosecutor can deny the charges or proceed with prosecution.
In a “ticket case”, which is more common in Ann Arbor than other part of the County, the police officer will issue a ticket on the spot, and there will be a time period where the client must turn themselves into the court or a bench warrant can be issued for their arrest. This skips the step of the prosecutor and judge reviewing the case, and speeds up the process, which can be quite alarming for a student or someone who is leaving town with no immediate plans to return to the County (more on this process later).
If the prosecutor determines that charges are warranted, they will submit a warrant to a judge to review and sign, and the client becomes officially charged with a crime(s). If it’s a felony, an arrest warrant will be issued, and the client could be arrested at any time. If the charge is a misdemeanor, an arrest warrant can be issued or a notice will be sent in the mail to the client, and an attorney if the client has hired one.
It is quite common for a police officer to submit the facts of a case to the prosecutor, which results in the prosecutor telling the police officer that he/she needs further investigation before a decision can be made. In the prosecutor world this is called “furthered”. This means that at the present time, the prosecutor does not have enough to submit charges, and the police officer is given the task of filling in the missing information. If after additional investigation is conducted, the prosecutor can deny the charges or proceed with prosecution.
In a “ticket case”, which is more common in Ann Arbor than other part of the County, the police officer will issue a ticket on the spot, and there will be a time period where the client must turn themselves into the court or a bench warrant can be issued for their arrest. This skips the step of the prosecutor and judge reviewing the case, and speeds up the process, which can be quite alarming for a student or someone who is leaving town with no immediate plans to return to the County (more on this process later).
