CALIFORNIA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 101: Part 3
In part 3 of our Criminal Justice System series, we explain what happens after the police make an arrest. At this point, the government’s lawyer gets involved. (Read Part 1: Jurisdiction, Part 2: Criminal Justice Process if you missed it.)
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Once an arrest has been made, the police present the evidence gathered to the District Attorney’s (“DA”) Office for review. District Attorneys are lawyers representing the local government in criminal matters. They are elected in each county in California. In San Francisco, Chesa Boudin is the District Attorney. Attorneys who work under Mr. Boudin are called Deputy District Attorneys.
DA INVESTIGATION & REVIEW
Once the District Attorney’s Office gets a case from the police, it must review and corroborate the investigation done by the police. The Office has its own investigative unit and often will perform an additional investigation to make certain they are charging the right person with the crime.
PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION
The DA’s decision to prosecute often comes down to the strength of the evidence and the seriousness of the crime. This is important to remember because the DA must be able to prove in court with relative certainty that someone committed a crime. The standard to arrest someone (probable cause) is much lower than the standard to convict someone of a crime in court (beyond a reasonable doubt).
LEVELS OF CRIMES
There are three levels of crimes: infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. What constitutes criminal behavior and the severity of the crime is defined in the California Penal Code.
Additional criminal behavior, which is regulated in San Francisco County, appears in the San Francisco Municipal Code / Police Code.
a) INFRACTION
An infraction is the least serious type of crime in California. The most common example of this type of offense is a traffic ticket. Infractions are usually issued by the police and there is minimal involvement by the District Attorney’s Office.
b) MISDEMEANOR
A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by a maximum of one year in a county jail. Examples of misdemeanors include prostitution, petty theft, public intoxication, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, some DUI (driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) or DWI (driving while intoxicated) and some domestic violence cases.
c) FELONY
The most serious of the three types of crimes, felonies are punishable by more than one year, often in prison (as opposed to jail) and usually involve crimes of violence including murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, hate crimes and carjacking. A conviction for a capital crime such as murder with an aggravating circumstance can result in a sentence of death. Although Governor Newsom enacted an official moratorium on further executions in the State of California, there is still technically a death penalty in California.
FORMAL CHARGES
If the District Attorney’s Office makes a determination that they believe that a crime was committed and that there is sufficient evidence to prove in court that the suspect committed that crime, the DA will bring formal charges against the defendant. There are two common ways for the DA to do this.
a) INDICTMENT BY A GRAND JURY
For many of the most serious crimes, the DA will empanel a grand jury to seek an indictment that charges the defendant with committing a crime.
A grand jury is a group of people that sit on a jury that decides whether to return an indictment. But unlike a jury that operates during a trial, a grand jury hears only evidence presented by the prosecutor, not the defendant. In addition, the defendant is not present for the process and often grand jury proceedings are done in secret as opposed to an open public criminal trial.
The biggest difference, however, between a grand jury and a criminal trial jury is the standard of proof that is required by each. A grand jury must simply find probable cause that the suspect is the person who committed the crime. This is the standard discussed earlier – that there are reasonable grounds to think this suspect committed that crime. A trial jury, on the other hand, can only convict a defendant if they find the evidence presented established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime he is charged with.
b) INFORMATION
An information is similar to an indictment, except that instead of a grand jury a prosecutor determines if there is sufficient evidence to charge the suspect with a crime. This process is used more often for misdemeanors and less serious felonies.
RECAP
Families for Francisco’s report will focus on crimes and cases within state and local level jurisdiction. Read Part 4 on the initial court proceedings after the prosecutor decides to bring a case.