how often does city attorney take to refile cases

by Tavares VonRueden PhD 6 min read

Full Answer

Why do prosecutors sometimes choose not to prosecute criminal cases?

Prosecutors may decline to press charges because they think it unlikely that a conviction will result. No matter what the prosecutor's personal feelings about the case, the prosecutor needs legally admissible evidence sufficient to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

What does it mean when the court rejects your case?

When a case is rejected, it means that the prosecutor does not feel that there is enough evidence, at the moment, to warrant filing criminal charges against you.

What is exculpatory evidence?

Evidence, such as a statement, tending to excuse, justify, or absolve the alleged fault or guilt of a defendant.

What does a DA reject mean?

A DA reject means that the prosecutor does not have enough evidence to prosecute you. However, depending on the crime, they have a certain amount of time to actually file a case against you.

What is the difference between a city attorney and a district attorney?

The City Attorney has the main person. They have an assistant. They have a bunch of Deputies. They have supervising City Attorneys in each of the branches of the courthouses. The District Attorney is like a business. They have a head District Attorney and they have multiple Assistant heads. They’ve got office heads.

Can a wobbler be a misdemeanor?

For example, someone could be arrested for a crime and be booked for a felony and the crime could be a wobbler – meaning it could be filed as a misdemeanor or felony, so the District Attorney’s office could reject the case, decide not to file it, but then send it to the City Attorney and say, this is a case you should file.

Do city and district attorneys work together?

Sometimes they have to work together. Sometimes the City Attorneys and District Attorneys have to deal with a case where both a felony and a misdemeanor are filed. Sometimes somebody will be on misdemeanor probation and commit a felony, and then the City Attorney comes in and give their position on how they’re going to deal with their probation violation, for example, so it has to be coordinated between the defense attorney and also the District Attorney. So, a lot of times the City Attorney and District Attorney will work side-by-side on certain cases in certain situations.

Where is the District Attorney's office in Los Angeles?

There’s one main District Attorney’s office which is in downtown Los Angeles actually in the criminal court building at 210 West Temple. The City Attorney’s office has their own offices as well. They’re in most of the courthouses. There are a few examples of courthouses where there’s only District Attorneys and they prosecute both felonies ...

Who prosecutes felonies?

But in most of the courthouses, there’s both City Attorneys and District Attorneys, and again, the District Attorneys are usually prosecuting the felonies – the more serious cases, and the City Attorneys are usually prosecuting the misdemeanors – or the more community-based offenses. So, there’s a head City Attorney.

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