00:00Oh, there you are. Welcome. I'm Hugh Vu and today we're addressing a crucial topic for anyone
00:06navigating the legal system for the first time. Your first court appearance. We're focusing on
00:12specifically on what to expect at the Orange County Superior Court, whether or not it would
00:16be at the Harvard Justice Center, Santa Ana, Fulton Courthouse, or Westminster. Let's get
00:24started. Courtroom. The significance of the first court appearance. We'll explain what an
00:30arraignment is and what it means for both misdemeanor and felony cases. This is your
00:36official entry into the legal system where you confront the charges against you. When you first
00:43go into the courtroom on the first day, this court is called an arraignment court. You do not
00:51get a chance to go out there and talk about your case. It is a very procedural day. This is the
00:58day that you go in there and then you either admit or deny the charges. This is also a chance
01:06for your attorney to do this if they go in your place. For misdemeanor cases, in most instances,
01:14your attorney can go for you. That means you can stay home and send them in. However, for felony
01:19cases, you will have to be there absent extraordinary circumstances. If, for example, you were in
01:27another country and your attorney made pre-arrangements with the court ahead of time. On top of that,
01:33this is also the date that the police report will be available to either you or your attorney.
01:39In addition, this would be also a day when you are able to make additional requests for any type of
01:45audio and video on your case. How to prepare for your arraignment. Gathering documents and
01:51understanding your case is crucial. We'll guide you through preparing for your court date and
01:56what documents you'll need. As far as documents, you will need your citation to appear. The reason
02:03for this is because you may have to refer to it if you do not see your case on calendar.
02:08If this is the case, you will need to take your document over to the district attorney's office
02:13to give them the information. So that way you can at least cover your butts and show that you did
02:19show up to court. They'll give you a piece of paperwork saying that your court case was not
02:25filed. As far as other documents goes, if you are out in bail, you will want to take your bail
02:30paperwork. And this is important because you need to show to the court that you have posted bail.
02:36And many times when bail is posted, the court doesn't always get noticed for it. So it's
02:41important that you do this. So that way you're not remanded into custody. If this is either a
02:46felony or a second DUI or above or a domestic violence case. If you have an attorney, your
02:55attorney will handle all this for you. Navigating the courthouse and practical guide from security
03:02protocols to courtroom etiquette will cover what to expect when you arrive at the courthouse and
03:06how to conduct yourself. When you initially arrive to any of the courthouse in Orange County,
03:12it's important that you take out any type of knives or weapons out of your body. You would
03:19not believe the amount of people who have picked up new crimes because they have brought a blade
03:25into court. It's important that you do not do that. On top of that, take out any lighters,
03:31use common sense. If you have any type of drugs, leave that out as well. You will be going through
03:36a metal detector. Anything that lights up, the sheriffs or bailiffs will screen you. On top of
03:42that, it's also important that you respect courtroom etiquette. When it comes to courtroom
03:49etiquette, you will walk into the courtroom and also check in with the bailiff. You don't go
03:55talking with anybody else. You have to go check in with the bailiff because the bailiff is the
04:00main person that keeps track of who is inside that courtroom. After you check in with the
04:06bailiff, you'll grab a seat, sit down, and in many cases, you will see a television monitor or a
04:14judge come out. The judge or the television monitor will explain your rights at the arraignment,
04:21in a nutshell, inside the courtroom, the arraignment process. Understand the steps of
04:27an arraignment from how to enter a plea to your rights about legal representation. In this segment,
04:34we're going to talk about how to enter your plea. If you do this yourself, which I highly advise
04:40against, the judge will call your name and you will come up and they would ask, how do you plea?
04:47If you admit the charges, then you could say guilty. If you disagree with the charges,
04:52then you would say not guilty. It's important to know that at this point of time, you may get an
04:59offer from the prosecutor. They may pull you out and talk to you about your case. Alternatively,
05:05they may not, and the judge may come up and call you up and give you an offer on your case as well.
05:13However, it's also important to know that some of these offers do not stick around or they may not
05:20be the best one for your type of situation. Given the proof and the strength of their case,
05:27it's important that you are able to look at the police reports and seek legal guidance on this.
05:34You may want to do the third option, which is to come back within 30 to 45 days to consider your
05:42options or grab an attorney. In this segment, we're going to learn about the potential outcomes,
05:48like moving to pretrial bail requirements and the implications of a guilty plea.
05:54If you plea guilty on your case, then there will be penalties. Depending on the type of case you
05:59have, you may end up with either formal probation or probation or some type of diversion in between.
06:09On top of that, probation is either five or three years. It depends on the type of case.
06:14If this is a second DUI, you may be looking at five years. If this is a first DUI, you're looking
06:18at three years. If this is some kind of child abuse case, you're looking at four years of
06:22probation. On top of that, sometimes probation involves formal probation as well. There's two
06:28types of probation. There's formal and there's informal. In addition to this, and when you're
06:33looking at bail requirements on your first date in court, these typically apply to domestic violence
06:39cases and second DUIs and anything above. When it comes to this, that means the court will want
06:47to take you into custody unless you post up some type of bond. The way bond works is that you would
06:53work with a bondsman and they will put up their money while you pay a premium. As this happens,
07:00you're able to move the case to pretrial. Pretrial is basically a fancy way to say negotiations.
07:07It is a way to talk more about the case and to see how it unfolds. The importance of legal
07:13representation. We'll discuss why having an attorney is vital and how to request a public
07:17defender if you can't afford private counsel. Not everybody can afford private counsel. It is
07:24expensive and a drain on the resources. However, the benefits far exceed the cost. If you get the
07:32counsel that knows what they're doing and can take you in and out of the court system. However,
07:38if you qualify, you should request the services of a public defender. Public defenders are the
07:45best lawyers in the courtroom. Nobody knows the courthouse more than them. If you qualify,
07:53you should request a public defender and the court will have you fill out a financial declaration
08:01form. I will leave a link below for the forms. It's vital to have an attorney on this to know
08:08whether or not a prosecutor is trying to pull a fast one on you or not. Communicating with the
08:13judge. Sometimes the prosecutor is trying to pull a fast one on you or if they are not giving you
08:20the best offer, you know that they're holding something back. In this section, we're advising
08:26the types of questions you can ask and the importance of understanding the roles of each
08:30courtroom figure. The prosecutor may not always be giving the best offer or it may be a new
08:37prosecutor that's too afraid to do anything at all and we do not want to deal with them anymore
08:42because it's not getting anywhere. If this is the case, we may rely on the judge to resolve the case.
08:49A judge is also another person who if we talk to, we can resolve the case for. However,
08:57a prosecutor can change the charges. The judge cannot. They can determine the sentence.
09:03Navigating bail and release conditions. We'll explore how bill is set. The fact is influencing
09:09bail decisions and the impact of release conditions on your life. It's important to know that when you
09:16are released on bail, you're not just set free. There will be conditions that are put onto you.
09:22If this is, for example, a DUI, then when you are released on bail, you may have to attend AA
09:30meetings or you may have conditions, which means that you cannot drink and drive. On top of that,
09:37if this was a domestic violence case and you are released on bail, you may have conditions as well.
09:42Anger management, for example, and also peaceful contact orders. These are just some of the
09:50release conditions depending on the type of case you have. Adjusting your plea and the importance
09:55of court attendance. Understand how and when you can change your plea and the consequences
10:00of failing to appear at your arraignment. If you do not appear at your arraignments,
10:05or let's say for instance, you just missed it, then assuming that your case is filed,
10:12then that means a warrant will be issued for your arrest. What will happen is that the court will
10:17call your name and if there's nobody to check in for you, the judge will make a note that they
10:23called your name and then you were not there. A bench warrant will be issued for your arrest.
10:29A bench warrant is basically an order from the court to any type of law enforcement officers
10:34to take you into custody. It's important that you attend this first date in court.
10:41As far as adjusting your plea, that is something that's up to you and how you decide
10:47to handle your case. Maybe you got an offer that you can live with. Maybe you trusted the prosecutor
10:53in this case that they're giving you a fair shake. If that's the case, then you may want to change
10:59your plea from a not guilty to guilty. Your first court appearance is a significant step in your
11:04legal journey. Being well prepared and informed can make a substantial difference. Remember, seeking
11:10legal counsel is key. If you're facing an arraignment in Orange County, don't hesitate to reach out for
11:15professional guidance. If you have questions, give us a call or leave a comment below. On the other
11:24hand, if you don't want to put your dirty laundry out there for the world to see, you're also
11:28welcome to scratch that. On the other hand, if you don't want to put your dirty laundry out
11:32there for the world to see, you're welcome to use the make an appointment button or give us a call.
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