Monroe County Criminal Defense: What to Expect During Your First 48 Hours After Arrest

If you have been arrested for a crime in Monroe County, it will be important to make sure you know what comes next. A lot can happen in the first 48 hours after your arrest; and, if you aren’t careful, you could unknowingly make mistakes that jeopardize your defense.

In this article, we cover:

• The typical timeline during the first 48 hours after an arrest in Monroe County
• The importance of asserting your constitutional rights after an arrest
• What a DUI arrest adds to the process
• What to expect after the first 48 hours of your criminal case

Timeline After an Arrest in Monroe County: The First 48 Hours

When you get arrested for a crime in Monroe County, the next steps in your case will depend on the specific charge (or charges) you are facing.  The circumstances surrounding your arrest can impact the next steps in the process as well. With this in mind, the following is an example of a fairly typical timeline during the first 48 hours after a criminal arrest:

• Booking and Processing – After arresting you, the police may take you to the station for booking and processing, which can include fingerprints, photographs and lots of questions. If you will be placed in a holding cell pending your preliminary arraignment, you may undergo a medical screening as well.
• Detention – If you are not released and do not post bail (or bail is denied), you may be held in custody until your preliminary hearing. You are entitled to assert your constitutional rights while you are being detained (more on this below), and it is critical that you do so.
• Preliminary Arraignment – If you are arrested without a warrant and held, the rules require your preliminary arraignment to take place without unnecessary delay. During your arraignment, you will appear before a judge who will advise you of your rights and read the charges against you. The judge will also set the date for your preliminary hearing.
• Bail and Release – If you are being held in detention, you have the right to seek bail (or, in some cases, a release without bail). If you are released on bail, you will be required to show up for your preliminary hearing voluntarily—and, if you don’t, the judge can issue a bench warrant for your arrest.
• Starting to Build Your Defense – To give yourself the best possible chance of avoiding unnecessary consequences, you should start building your defense as soon as possible. From the moment you get arrested, there are lots of mistakes you need to avoid, and there are lots of steps you can—and should—take to protect yourself.

Building your defense will involve working closely with an experienced Monroe County criminal defense attorney. While you have the right to represent yourself in your criminal case, you also have the right to legal representation. With all that you have at stake, you do not want to take unnecessary chances.  An experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to help you carefully consider all of your options, represent you in court, and help you avoid costly mistakes every step of the way.  

Asserting Your Constitutional Rights During the First 48 Hours

During the first 48 hours after your arrest, one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself is to assert your constitutional rights. While you have several constitutional rights in this scenario, some of your most important rights in the immediate aftermath of an arrest include:

• The Right to Remain Silent – Under the Fifth Amendment, you have the right to remain silent after an arrest. The police cannot compel you to answer questions that could incriminate you.
• The Right to Legal Representation – Before police question you in custody, you have the right to have a lawyer present, and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches once you are brought before a judicial officer and told of the formal charges, as at a preliminary arraignment. If you have been arrested for a crime in Monroe County, you can—and should—request to speak with an attorney right away.

Once you hire a criminal defense attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to assist with asserting your other constitutional rights as well. In many cases, violations of defendants’ constitutional rights can serve as defenses in court. For example, if the police obtained key evidence in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, you may be entitled to keep this evidence out of court. Likewise, if prosecutors violate your Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial, this could entitle you to a dismissal.

The impact of any violation of your constitutional rights will depend on the specific circumstances of your case. Some rights, such as the rights to remain silent and to have a lawyer during police questioning, are most effective when you assert them clearly, and this is another important reason to have an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side.

What Happens After a DUI Arrest in Pennsylvania?

A DUI arrest follows the same general path, with three differences: you may be asked to take a breath or blood test, you may be released after testing and charged later by summons instead of being held for a preliminary arraignment, and a first offense may qualify for ARD. Here is how those pieces work.

• The chemical test – The officer must warn you that refusing a chemical test will lead to a license suspension and a restoration fee of up to $2,000 and that, for a breath test, refusing exposes you to the highest-tier DUI penalties if you are convicted under § 3802(a)(1), the incapable-of-driving-safely offense (75 Pa.C.S. § 1547). A refusal brings its own 12-month PennDOT suspension, or 18 months with a prior refusal suspension or a prior DUI sentence; any suspension for a DUI conviction is separate, and one assessed while the refusal suspension is running extends it (75 Pa.C.S. § 1544(b)). The refusal can also be used as evidence at trial.
• Release and summons – After a DUI arrest without a warrant, the officer must release you after testing, rather than take you to a preliminary arraignment, when the most serious charge is a second-degree misdemeanor (or, in a DUI case, a first-degree misdemeanor), you pose no threat of immediate physical harm, and the officer has reasonable grounds to believe you will appear (Pa.R.Crim.P. 519(B)). A complaint must then be filed within five days of your release, and the court mails a summons setting your preliminary hearing at least 20 days out, unless an earlier date is set at your request with the officer’s consent (Pa.R.Crim.P. 510). If you are held instead, the preliminary arraignment and bail steps above apply.
• The PennDOT notice – A license suspension arrives as a notice from PennDOT, and an appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date the notice was mailed (75 Pa.C.S. § 1550; 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5571(b) and 5572). Our guide to getting your license back after a DUI in PA covers the rest of the license side.
• ARD – ARD is offered at the District Attorney’s discretion once charges are filed (75 Pa.C.S. § 3807; Pa.R.Crim.P. 310). It is not available if you were found guilty of or accepted ARD for a DUI in the past 10 years (an earlier first-offense general impairment charge under § 3802(a)(2) does not count against you), if someone other than you was killed or seriously injured in a related accident, or if a passenger under 14 was in the vehicle. After you complete ARD, you can move for dismissal; when the judge dismisses the charges, the judge also orders expungement, and if the District Attorney objects, the judge holds a hearing first (Pa.R.Crim.P. 319 and 320). The clerk of courts still keeps a non-public record of the completion for 12 years, because a new DUI within 10 years after completing ARD is charged as a separate offense, DUI following diversion (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(h)).

For the penalties at each tier, including what a refusal adds, see our guide to DUI penalties in Pennsylvania.

What Comes Next?

So, that covers the first 48 hours after your arrest. Now, what comes next? As referenced above, the next step in most criminal cases is the preliminary hearing. If you had a preliminary arraignment, it will be scheduled no later than 14 days after the arraignment if you are held in custody on this case alone, or no later than 21 days in any other case, unless the date is extended for cause; if you were released and charged by summons instead, the summons sets the date. If the charges are held for court after your preliminary hearing (or you waive the hearing), the prosecutor’s office will file an “Information” listing the charges against you, and the case then moves to formal arraignment.

From this point forward, the process and timeline depend on several factors. If you are eligible for pretrial diversion, completing your pretrial diversion program successfully could lead to dismissal of your criminal case. Negotiating a plea bargain is an option at this stage as well. If your best option is to fight your case in court, then you will need to focus your time and energy on working with your criminal defense attorney to fight your case by all means available.

Request a Free Consultation with Monroe County Criminal Defense Attorney Brian C. Jordan

Were you arrested in Monroe County, PA? If so, we encourage you to contact us promptly so that we can help you. To request a free consultation with Monroe County criminal defense attorney Brian C. Jordan, call us at 570-356-4985 or tell us how we can reach you online now.