Securing an Indictment Before a Robbery Arrest in DC
Before someone is arrested for a robbery offense, prosecutors have a greater amount of time and much more leeway to take their time securing an indictment before a robbery arrest in DC. In some situations, prosecutors may seek to obtain a grand jury indictment before the accused is arrested. Once prosecutors obtain an indictment, the person can be arrested right before the court and charged based on that indictment. However, skilled robbery attorneys know that it is much more common for prosecutors to seek a grand jury indictment after a person is arrested.
Understanding the Role of a Robbery Prosecutor
Most prosecutors will prioritize successfully securing an indictment before a robbery arrest in DC. The reason is that in most situations, people are arrested on allegations of committing some crime at or around the time the offenses are alleged to have occurred. Sometimes people are arrested after police obtain an arrest warrant for them.
In most situations, this happens before prosecutors begin seeking an indictment to proceed to trial. Under rare circumstances, prosecutors may use the grand jury process as an investigation tactic. Prosecutors have the ability to serve subpoenas to force people to testify before a grand jury.
Doing so can allow them to use their subpoena before a grand jury to find witnesses, get information from the witnesses, and take a lengthy period of time to go through the grand jury process. There are limitations on the amount of time prosecutors can take to indict someone because people are entitled to constitutional rights once they are arrested including the right to a speedy trial.
Common Robbery Indictment Scenarios
In most criminal cases, a person is arrested at or around the time of the alleged offense. The police may arrive at the scene of an alleged crime and make an arrest. In cases where an arrest has not been made, police may take more time to engage in investigation and conduct additional witness interviews for the purpose of securing an arrest warrant.
Securing an indictment before a robbery arrest in DC is not required to get an arrest warrant. It can be based solely on the representations of one police officer writing a sworn affidavit. If a magistrate judge believes there is probable cause to make a conclusion that the person committed that crime, they can issue an arrest warrant.
Since the process for getting an arrest warrant is easier than the process for getting a grand jury indictment and takes much less time, prosecutors typically move forward with an arrest first. Once a person is arrested, the prosecutors go through the process of obtaining a grand jury indictment.
Deadlines For Indicting In Robbery Cases
When someone is arrested, the prosecutors have time limits to obtain an arrest warrant. If a person is detained in jail after being arrested and held in jail while the trial is pending, prosecutors must obtain an indictment within 90 days. There are exceptions in more complicated cases such as sexual assault or homicide. In most cases, securing an indictment before a robbery arrest in DC must be done in 90 days.
If the prosecutors cannot obtain an indictment within 90 days where the person is detained, and the prosecutors cannot lay out another legal basis for additional time, the judge can order the person’s release. The prosecutors can pursue the same process of obtaining an indictment.
In more complicated cases that may require more lengthy investigations, the prosecutor can use the grand jury process as an investigation tool. They can subpoena witnesses to the grand jury and take a longer period of time to have witnesses appear before a grand jury to testify with some having to appear more than one time. The prosecutor can use the grand jury process to obtain an indictment to begin the case. For those seeking a defense for the case being built against them, contact an experienced robbery attorney right away.