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County Criminal

Standing Pretrial Order

6-minute County Criminial Arraignment Video: (English then Spanish)

In this video you will find information that is pertant to you should you be going to court for either a misdemeanor or traffic case.

Some legal terms you may hear:

Arraignment
Appearance of the defendant in court to enter his/her plea to charges.

Plea
Defendant’s answer to the charge.

No Contest
A defendant neither admits nor denies the charges, letting them stand as is.

Public Defender
A court appointed attorney for those defendants who are declared indigent (cannot afford a lawyer).

Jury Trial
A trial that is heard and decided by a jury.

Non-Jury Trial
A case tried by a judge.

Nol-Pros
To drop prosecution of by entering a nolle prosequi on the courts records.

Adjudication
A judgment rendered by the court after a finding of guilt.

Withhold of Adjudication
The judge withholds the judgment of guilt/conviction on an offense.