When a prospective client calls our office, they are usually understandably overwhelmed by the judicial system. The judicial system is complicated, and it is often taken for granted that many individuals do not have any experience navigating the complex system. In this article, I will break down each step in the process when you are facing criminal charges in Fulton State Court.

Arrest

A criminal case begins when you are arrested. Sometimes this is immediately after allegedly committing a crime and sometime this is after a law enforcement agency does some investigating and decides that an arrest is appropriate. At this point, you will be booked into the Fulton County Jail.

First Appearance and Bond Hearing

This is the first time you will go before a judge. In Fulton County, misdemeanor first appearance hearings occur every day but Sunday and are held virtually at 2pm. Defendants appear from the jail and the magistrate judge and private lawyers appear remotely. You are legally entitled to a bond for misdemeanors. The judge will consider, among other factors, your criminal history and your ties to the community when determining the amount of your bond.

Preliminary Hearing

In Fulton County, you will not receive a preliminary hearing if you bond out. If you do not bond out, you are entitled to this hearing in which the judge decides if there is enough evidence to support the charges. If the judge decides there is not enough evidence to support the charges, your charges will be dismissed. Remember that you won’t have this hearing if you bond out.

Transfer of Incident Report and Evidence and Investigation

Next, the arresting agency sends the incident report and any evidence to the office that will be responsible for prosecuting your case. For misdemeanors in Fulton County, this is the Solicitor General’s Office. The Solicitor General’s Office will then investigate your case and prepare the paperwork needed to formally accuse your case.

Charging of Your Case

For misdemeanors, the charging document is called an accusation. The accusation details what crimes you have been charged with and provides details about how each crime was allegedly committed. Once this accusation is drafted, your case will be assigned to Fulton County State Court judge and will be assigned a unique case number that will track the case.

Arraignment

In Fulton County State Court, an arraignment is your first court appearance after your case is officially accused. Three things happen at arraignment: you receive a copy of the charges, you enter a plea of not guilty, and you request a jury trial. We can often waive this hearing and enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf so that you will not have to attend this court date.

Filing Motions

After your arraignment, we will file written motions in your case. We will file preliminary motions which include asking the State for a copy of the evidence in your case. After reviewing the evidence, we will file any additional necessary motions. These might include motions to suppress any evidence that we believe was obtained in a way that violated your constitutional rights.

Motions Date

After filing our written motions, your case will be placed on a motions calendar to allow us to argue the motion in front of your assigned judge. Sometimes a judge will issue a ruling right away and sometimes a judge will issue a written ruling in a few weeks. This motions hearing may include testimony from the officer that arrested you or may simply be legal argument.

Trial

If we do not receive an offer to resolve your case that is favorable, we will place your case on a trial calendar. This is our signal to the State that we want to take your case to trial in front of a jury of six of your peers. Depending on your charges and the amount of evidence involved in your case, trial could be as short as one day or could last multiple days.

 

This is an overwhelming process and is not designed to be navigated easily on your own. We would be honored to represent you through every step of the process. If you are facing any type of misdemeanor charge in the State Court of Fulton County, call our office today at 404-581-0999 for a free consultation.