Arrested in Mississippi’s Hinds County? What You Need to Know.

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In Mississippi’s Hinds County — the state’s most populous county and residential to Jackson, the state capital — hundreds of individuals arrested every year on felony prison prices can transfer via as many as three completely different courts. The Marshall Mission – Jackson tapped consultants and reviewed court docket guidelines to reply widespread questions concerning the course of.

What rights does an individual have after arrest?

A defendant has a constitutional proper to stay silent. This implies somebody beneath arrest can refuse to talk with police or to talk to police solely with their lawyer current.

Additionally, a defendant has the proper to name a lawyer, and anybody who can not afford to rent a non-public legal professional additionally has the proper to have a lawyer supplied for them by the court docket freed from cost.

What occurs after somebody has been arrested on a felony, or critical prison cost, in Hinds County?

Mississippi court docket guidelines require that the arrested individual see a decide inside 48 hours if that individual is jailed. The court docket listening to known as the “preliminary look.”

What occurs at an preliminary look?

A decide usually determines whether or not a defendant is eligible to be launched from jail whereas ready for a prison case to maneuver via the authorized system. The decide could require {that a} defendant observe sure necessities to be launched from jail.

The place is the preliminary look held?

The place an preliminary look takes place depends upon which regulation enforcement company made the arrest and the place the arrest occurred. Folks arrested inside the metropolis limits of Jackson by the Jackson Police Division usually have an preliminary look on the Jackson Municipal Courtroom at 327 East Pascagoula St.

Will a defendant get an legal professional on the preliminary look listening to?

The decide ought to decide whether or not the defendant can afford an legal professional. If the decide determines somebody is simply too poor to afford a non-public follow legal professional, the decide ought to appoint a lawyer on the county’s expense.

Is there a public defender for the county?

If somebody is arrested in Jackson or Hinds County and can’t afford an legal professional, that individual will probably be represented by the Hinds County Public Defender’s Workplace. The Public Defender’s Workplace, which has no web site, could be reached at 601-948-2683.

What occurs if an individual is arrested by an company aside from the Jackson metropolis police?

Folks arrested inside the metropolis limits of Jackson by the Capitol Police go to Hinds County Courtroom, situated within the Hinds County Courthouse at 407 East Pascagoula St., for his or her preliminary appearances.

As of January 2024, state regulation requires that folks arrested on felony prices by Capitol Police would have their preliminary look earlier than a newly created court docket, the Capitol Complicated Enchancment District Courtroom, often simply referred to as the “CCID court docket.” Federal litigation associated to the CCID is ongoing, and state officers haven’t stated after they consider the brand new court docket will start working. No judges have been appointed but.

What makes the Capitol Complicated court docket completely different?

Not like all different judges within the state, who’re elected by the voters, the brand new district court docket judges are appointed by the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Courtroom.

The place is the Capitol Complicated Enchancment District situated?

The CCID refers back to the space inside Jackson and across the Capitol the place Capitol Police have jurisdiction (see map right here). A lawsuit in federal court docket is making an attempt to dam the creation of this Capitol Complicated court docket. The lawsuit claims that the brand new court docket unconstitutionally undermines the facility of Black voters in Jackson to have a say within the election of native judges and prosecutors.

What if somebody is arrested exterior of Jackson and the Capitol Complicated district?

Folks arrested by the Hinds County Sheriff’s Workplace exterior the cities in Hinds County will usually even have an preliminary look on the Hinds County Courtroom.

There are a number of smaller cities in Hinds County as effectively. Folks arrested within the metropolis of Clinton go to the municipal court docket there and, if they will’t afford their legal professional, are represented by the Hinds County Public Defender’s Workplace. Within the metropolis of Byram, preliminary appearances for felony defendants additionally happen within the metropolis’s municipal court docket, with a metropolis public defender out there.

Can a defendant be launched from jail earlier than trial?

Sure, however the decide can even specify any variety of launch situations or restrictions. These are sometimes referred to as “bail situations.”

For instance, a decide could merely require that an individual promise to seem in any respect future court docket appearances. A decide could require that the defendant not journey exterior the county the place they dwell, that they keep away from sure locations or individuals, or that they periodically report again to court docket.

Nonetheless, the decide may as an alternative resolve a defendant should pay cash upfront of launch, usually referred to as a “bond.”

How does a defendant get a bond?

Many individuals will use a bonding firm, generally referred to as a “bondsman.” An individual pays the bonding firm a sure amount of cash, usually 10% of the complete quantity set by the decide. The bonding firm then agrees to pay the complete quantity if that individual fails to point out up for a court docket date.

What if the defendant launched on bond doesn’t present up in court docket?

A defendant could be topic to arrest plus threat dropping the bond. The defendant may be jailed pending the end result of the case.

What does the decide base a bond determination on?

The seriousness of the cost, prior prison historical past, ties to the area people and the suggestions, if any, of the arresting officer or the county prosecutor could all play a task within the launch situations ordered by a decide.

Nonetheless, judges have just about limitless discretion over bond choices and people judges could not at all times clarify the explanations for his or her choices.

What occurs if an arrested individual can not afford to pay the bond?

Defendants have the proper to contact their legal professional or public defender. The lawyer could file a movement to ask the decide to rethink and set a decrease bond.

How does a decide resolve if somebody will get a public defender?

There is no such thing as a set revenue threshold in Mississippi. A decide will usually have a look at a defendant’s revenue, month-to-month bills, money owed, and any property, reminiscent of property, to resolve whether or not to nominate a public defender. As a result of there are not any statewide eligibility guidelines, completely different judges use completely different requirements when evaluating whether or not somebody qualifies for appointed counsel. Judges could ask a defendant to finish a written type that asks monetary questions. Different judges could merely ask defendants in court docket about their funds.

Will the arrested individual at all times see a decide inside 48 hours?

This rule doesn’t apply to individuals not being held in jail. An arrest warrant, for instance, may already comprise written bail situations. This implies a defendant may very well be allowed to put up bond instantly or shortly after an arrest with no need to see a decide.

What occurs after the preliminary look?

The protection legal professional may file a movement to switch the felony case to the Hinds County Courtroom. The general public defender’s workplace does this for a number of causes, together with for defendants who can’t pay their preliminary bond set by the municipal decide. As soon as in county court docket, public defenders can ask a decide there to rethink the bond quantity and decrease it.

Public defenders may additionally switch a case to County Courtroom for defendants charged with critical crimes. On the County Courtroom, the protection lawyer can request a preliminary listening to.

What’s a preliminary listening to?

State officers on the public listening to should present sufficient proof to persuade a decide that “possible trigger” exists to help the cost or prices. “Possible trigger” is a decrease threshold of proof than what’s required for a conviction in a jury trial.

Prosecutors will usually present the minimal proof they consider is required to persuade a decide that possible trigger exists.

A protection legal professional could have the chance to query any witness that testifies for the prosecutor. A defendant may additionally name their very own witnesses or introduce different proof.

On the finish of a preliminary listening to, if a decide believes there’s possible trigger that somebody dedicated against the law, then the decide will order that individual certain over to the grand jury.

What does “certain over to the grand jury” imply?

It means the case can maintain shifting ahead, however solely after a prosecutor will get an indictment from a grand jury.

What’s an indictment?

An indictment is an official accusation by a grand jury that strikes a felony case towards trial. Grand juries are composed of residents and meet a number of occasions a 12 months to think about dozens of circumstances offered to them by prosecutors. A grand jury, which meets in secret, has the choice of returning an indictment or not issuing an indictment. A grand jury often solely hears proof offered by the prosecutor. Protection attorneys should not allowed to attend the listening to.

When will a grand jury act?

There is no such thing as a time restrict for a grand jury to listen to a case. An indictment may happen a 12 months, or much more, after an arrest.

What occurs after an indictment?

The case strikes to the Circuit Courtroom till a closing decision within the case is reached. There are 4 circuit judges in Hinds County. All 4 judges are elected by Hinds County voters.

What’s going to my lawyer do after an indictment is issued?

A protection legal professional will request all the state’s proof from the prosecutor. A decide will set a trial date, the place a jury or decide will decide if the defendant is responsible or not responsible of the cost or prices.

Who’re the felony court docket judges of Hinds County?

The Circuit Courtroom has 4 judges. The judges are every elected to four-year phrases in nonpartisan elections. They’re:

Who do the prosecutors work for?

The Workplace of the Hinds County District Legal professional oversees almost all prison prosecutions within the county. The workplace is headed by District Legal professional Jody E. Owens II, a Democrat in his second four-year time period as of January 2024.

What can occur earlier than the beginning of a trial?

The prosecutor could supply a plea deal, which often means the prosecutor agrees to hunt a much less extreme punishment or drop among the prices in trade for a responsible plea to a number of of the fees.

Alternatively, if a protection legal professional believes the fees lack proof or in any other case should not supported by the regulation, the protection legal professional can ask a decide to dismiss the fees.

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