Why some suspects are not charged
Abraham Retana
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – When it comes to court cases, sometimes there’s a misconception on why a defendant walks out of custody without any charges filed.
Some people think this means the defendant will never be charged, however, this is not always the case.
When a person gets arrested, the judge has to look for a probable cause to keep them in custody.
Based on that information, they look for any victims and if the victim received a notification.
“Based on that information is where we determine if we are going to release the person or set a bond, a high bond, a low bond, do they have a criminal history,” said Scarlett Harper, Justice of the Peace Precinct 2.
In Arizona, the county attorney or the prosecutor has 48 hours to collect the police reports and all the information needed to file charges.
“Now that time is for the officer to summit the report to the city prosecutor or county attorneys, now if if they didn’t receive the report then the person get a no complaint filed, no charges are filed,” explained Judge Harper.
In the case the prosecutor needs more information, they will do what’s called a follow up.
Even if charges are not filed while the suspect is still in custody, they can be filed later.
“A misdemeanor, if no charges are filed after the 48 hours, then we advised them they have up to a year to file charges on a misdemeanor and on felonies they got up to seven years to file charges,” said Harper.
Harper clarifies that the prosecutor or the county attorney is the one who can charge the defendant.
“It is clear that the judge does not charge a person, it’s the state, it’s the prosecutor, the county attorneys, the city prosecutor. They make the charges that they are the state of Arizona. The judge in these cases we are like the referee,” said Harper.
The judge reads the charges, goes over advisement, lets the defendant know their rights and helps assign an attorney if needed.