Los Angeles Criminal Case Timeline: Arrest through Resolution

Under California Penal Code § 825, an arrested defendant generally must be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and within 48 hours after arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays. The statute also accounts for situations in which the 48-hour period expires while the relevant court is not in session.

This deadline concerns appearance before a magistrate. It does not mean that every investigation, booking decision, or release determination must be completed within the same 48-hour period.

Pre-arraignment release does not always mean posting money bail. The Los Angeles Superior Court uses release procedures and bail schedules that can distinguish among release, magistrate review, and cases subject to monetary bail depending on the offense and applicable law.

At arraignment, the defendant is advised of the charges and constitutional rights, enters a plea, and may receive appointed counsel if unable to afford an attorney. Release conditions may also be addressed.

California Penal Code § 1382 generally requires trial within 30 days after arraignment or plea, whichever occurs later, when the defendant is in custody at that point. In other misdemeanor cases, the general period is 45 days. Waiver, consent to a later date, good cause, and other statutory circumstances can change the deadline.

Those periods are speedy-trial rules, not predictions of how long every case will take.

For a felony prosecuted by complaint, Penal Code § 859b generally calls for a preliminary examination within 10 court days after arraignment or plea, whichever occurs later, unless the parties waive the deadline or the court finds good cause for a continuance. The statute contains additional rules for defendants who remain in custody.

The preliminary examination asks whether there is sufficient evidence to hold the defendant to answer. If the court does so, the prosecution proceeds by filing an information. Penal Code § 1382 generally requires dismissal, absent good cause, if an information is not filed within 15 days after the defendant is held to answer.

For broader representation issues outside this timeline, see the firm's criminal defense practice.

Penal Code § 1054.7 generally requires disclosures governed by California's criminal discovery chapter at least 30 days before trial. If material becomes known to or comes into a party's possession within that 30-day period, disclosure generally must occur immediately unless the statute's good-cause provisions apply.

That rule should not be described as a universal deadline requiring the prosecution to answer every defense request within a fixed number of days.

Penal Code § 1538.5 provides the procedure for seeking suppression of evidence obtained through an allegedly unreasonable search or seizure. The available procedure differs depending on whether the case involves a misdemeanor or felony and, in a felony case, whether the issue is raised at the preliminary examination or after an information is filed.

Search-and-seizure questions can be especially important when physical evidence forms a substantial part of a controlled-substance prosecution. The firm's drug crimes defense practice addresses those offense-specific issues separately rather than expanding them here.

In felony cases, Penal Code § 1382 generally uses a 60-day trial period measured from arraignment on an indictment or information. The statute also addresses general time waivers, defendant-requested or consented trial dates outside that period, and good-cause exceptions.

This is why a case scheduled months after arrest is not necessarily outside the statutory rules. The record must show which clock applies and whether it was waived or extended.

At trial, the prosecution must prove the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. A jury may return a guilty or not-guilty verdict. In an appropriate case, the parties may instead proceed to a court trial. If a conviction results, sentencing may occur immediately or at a later hearing.

The Los Angeles Superior Court identifies fines, custody, restitution, probation, and alternative sentencing among possible sentencing consequences, depending on the case and governing law.

DUI prosecutions can also involve separate driving-license and chemical-testing issues that fall outside this general criminal timeline. Those issues are addressed in the firm's DUI and DWI defense practice.