Many defendants attending criminal court for the first time can find the experience very overwhelming especially in some of the busier courts, such as the Dorchester District Court. This post is meant for those individuals and is intended to be a guide for individuals that do not frequent criminal court houses.
Generally, your first court appearance will be the arraignment. During the arraignment hearing you will be notified about the crimes you are charged with. Any issues of bail will be determined, and you will be given a date to return for a pretrial conference. The next court date will be the pretrial conference. At the pretrial conference your attorney will exchange information/evidence with the assistant district attorney.
Depending on the court, your next court date may be a compliance and election hearing. At this hearing both parties must provide any outstanding discovery/evidence to the other side. The next court hearing will be either a motions hearing or trial. At a motions hearing your defense attorney will argue any relevant motions, such as: motions to suppress or motions to dismiss.
Your final court date will be the trial date. On the trial date the Commonwealth will inform the Judge whether or not they are ready for trial. If they are ready to trial, then you must decide with your attorney whether you want to go trial or negotiate a plea agreement. If the Commonwealth answers not ready for trial, then your attorney can ask for the case to be dismissed. Depending on the particular circumstances of your case, the Judge may either dismiss the case or give the Commonwealth another trial date.
Although each case is different, this is generally the way your criminal case will proceed in Massachusetts. If you have specific questions, or are looking for a competent attorney, please contact Attorney Gomes.
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