HAS YOUR LOVED ONE BEEN
ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY?
DON’T PANIC! This page will attempt to help you through the next 24 hours.It is a Law Firm web page and can be considered attorney advertising, but will help you whether you hire our firm or anyone else.Your goal right now is to try and bring your loved one home.
Usually, within 24 hours from a person’s arrest, that person will have an arraignment in the criminal court in the county in which he or she was arrested. First the person will probably go to the precinct.If you speak to your loved one, make sure he or she does not give any statements and requests a lawyer, or
states that he or she has a lawyer if such is the case.This is important and can make a HUGE difference later in a case.
After the person is processed at the precinct, the person moves to a Central Booking Unit and eventually to the Courthouse. Before he or she is court ready, he or she will be identified by the ARREST NUMBER.GET THIS NUMBER FROM CENTRAL BOOKING.Once at the Courthouse, the person is eventually processed and once he or she receives a DOCKET NUMBER.The ARREST NUMBER and the DOCKET NUMBER are crucial to tracking the progress of the person’s case.Often, once there is a DOCKET NUMBER, the case is court ready and the person will be arraigned in front of a judge.
CJA INTERVIEW
Don’t go leaving the phone just yet.An agency is going to
interview your loved one and prepare a report that will be considered during the BAIL decision.It Is called CJA.They will interview your loved one and then attempt to confirm the information given.This means they will be calling the number your loved one gives.If possible, make sure you discuss with your loved one who will be called and what number they should call. MAKE SURE SOMEONE PICKS THAT PHONE UP!
CENTRAL BOOKING UNITS:
Bronx
215 East 161st Street
(718) 590-2817
Brooklyn
120 Schermerhorn Street
(718) 875-6303
Manhattan
100 Centre Street
(212) 374-3921
(212) 374-3942
(212) 374-3838
Queens
125-01 Queens Blvd.
(718) 268-4523
Staten Island
78 Richmond Terrace
(718) 876-8490
WHAT IS AN ARRAIGNMENT???
An arraignment is when the Court officially takes jurisdiction over a case.Now they have a file, with a DOCKET NUMBER, a
Complaint set forth by the District Attorney and they have your loved one in custody.Everyone comes together in
front of a judge and they formally charge the person with the crime alleged.A plea is entered at that time (GUILTY/NOT GUILTY).If a NOT GUILTY PLEA is entered, the Court must then decide whether the person charged should stay in jail or be released.The Court sets a BAIL.The Court usually tries to assess flight risk when considering bail.This means, the Court, which does not know your loved one, will have to figure out whether he or she will return to Court.They use lots of factors, including the nature of the charges, the person’s job history and educational background, and
whether or not the person has significant ties to the community.They also take note of who has bothered to come to court on behalf of the person during the arraignment.IT IS THE LAWYER WHO WILL ARGUE THE BAIL APPLICATION.There may be no BAIL. In that case, the person is released on his or her own recognizance (ROR).That means the person can leave and will come back at a later date.If a bail is set, the person will be held until bail is posted.THE REST OF THE CASE WILL BE DEALT WITH AT LATER DATES.THERE WILL NOT BE A TRIAL ON THE DAY OF ARRAIGNMENT.Arraignments usually happen from 9am to 1am – 7 days a week (except Staten Island/Richmond County).
IMMIGRATION ISSUES
If your loved one IS NOT A CITIZEN of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, you MUST MAKE SURE THE ATTORNEY KNOWS THIS.This is very important.There are important additional considerations that must be accounted for when NON-CITIZENS are charged with a crime.Please
make sure you bring any immigration issues to the attention of your attorney.
THE COURT SET BAIL, NOW WHAT!?
READY SET GO.It happens that quick sometimes.If you
can post bail in the Courtroom (it wont be there but if you can do it RIGHT AWAY) let the attorney handling the arraignment know so that he can inform the
Court.He or she should know BEFORE the arraignment, not after.This is because if the Court isn’t aware that
bail is about to be posted, the person might be sent to a Borough house/holding facility.You can then post bail at a
number of locations at that point, but your loved one’s release may be delayed.This could happen anyway, but if you have any chance at a more expeditious release, it is doing things in this manner.
WHERE IS THE COURTHOUSE?
You can use google maps to get directions to the Courthouse.Here are the addresses:
Manhattan (New York
County) Criminal Court: 100
Centre Street, NY NY
Trains:
4,5,6 To Brooklyn Bridge. Walk North.J,M,Z,
R, 6 to Canal Street Walk South.
Queens Criminal Court: 125-01 Queens Blvd., Queens New York
Trains:
E or F train to the Union Turnpike. Buses:
Q46, Q60, Q37, Q74
Bronx Criminal Court: 215
East 161st Street, Bronx, NY
Trains:
4 to 161st Street.
Brooklyn
Criminal Court (Kings County): 20
Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY
Trains:
M, R to Court St.; 2, 3, 4, 5 to Boro Hall; A, C, F to Jay St./Boro Hall
Staten
Island Criminal Court (Richmond County): 67 Targee Street, Staten Island, NY
Trains:Stapleton (0.5 mi) SIR
Other Numbers:
Police Precinct Information: (212) 374-5000
District Attorney’s Office (New York County): 212-335-9000
Legal Aid: (212) 732-5000
Prisoner Information: (888) 846-3469 or 311
Midtown Court (314 West 54th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues):
646-264-1308
Related Pages:
How to Locate An Inmate In New York
Find Someone Arrested In New York City NYC
WHERE IS THE CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE?
How To Find An Inmate In New York
How Do I Find My Next Court Date?
FREE DOWNLOAD – NEW YORK CITY ARRAIGNMENT/ARREST INFORMATION SHEET
Oeser-Sweat, P.C.
419 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor
New York, New York
Phone: 212-675-7955
WEB: www.oesersweat.com
HIRE AN ATTORNEY
24 Hours a Day/7 Days a Week:
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