Analysis and Application

When John was placed under arrest, the police did not have to read him his Miranda rights because they were not questioning him. Once John started making incriminating statements to the officers, they should have started reading him his Miranda rights. However, with John making the statements voluntarily, the police can still use those statements in court. Miranda rights protect the suspect's Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer self-incriminating questions but it does not protect them from incriminating themselves voluntarily. With detectives questioning him after his arrival at the police station, he would have been read his Miranda rights prior to that questioning.

After John's arrest and arrival at the police station, he would be searched for weapons or drugs. His personal belongings would be catalogued and retained. Next, he would go through the booking process. This consists of fingerprinting, background check, checking for warrants and processing into the computer system. Next, John would be taken to a jail cell. He would receive a phone call at the jailer's convenience. The whole process of booking can take anywhere from an hour to twelve hours, depending on the jail. Booking can also take longer if the person is arrested on a weekend, holiday, at night, or even during shift change.

A preliminary hearing is known as a "trial before the trial" where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to force the defendant to stand trial. There is no jury in a preliminary hearing and the prosecution only has to demonstrate the probable cause exists for the case to be moved up in the court system. A grand jury proceeding, however, is a group of citizens in which the prosecution presents the case outside the

presence of the defendant. The jurors are asked to determine if probable cause exists based on the evidence provided by the prosecution. Unlike a preliminary hearing, in grand jury cases neither the defendant nor the defense attorney can be present. The prosecutor must present the evidence in a fair and impartial manner and present any exculpatory evidence that could show the defendant not guilty. If the prosecution does not present it in this manner, the case could be remanded to the grand jury for re-determination of probable cause.

When the judge is determining bond for John, he would take into consideration that he has never been in trouble before and that most of his family still resides in his home country. With John's family residing outside of the country the judge could consider him a flight risk. The fact that John does not have legal status can also be used in determination bail by the judge. The judge also will consider the severity of the crime.

Arraignment is the first stage of court-based proceedings following arrest, booking and the initial bail phases. During an arraignment, the defendant is read the criminal charges against him/her.