The Legal System - You Are Charged With A Crime

In the preceding panel, you were arrested for larceny/theft. Next you will be charged and turned over to the court for prosecution, thereby clearing one of the eight crime index offenses tracked by the FBI. This is how you fit into the FBI's definition of a cleared offense: "when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of an offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution." The other way an offense is cleared is when the perpetrator dies.

The chart shows the percentage of index crimes that were cleared by an arrest in the year 2000.⁵ Looking at it, you can see that your luck ran out when you were arrested, since relatively few crimes are cleared by arrests. In the year 2000, only 18.2% of all larcenies/thefts reported to police were cleared. In fact, only 20.5% of the total of all crimes reported to police in the year 2000 were cleared. This low clearance pattern held true regardless of whether the offense was committed in a big city or a small town. In eight cities with a population of 1 million or more, 17.5% of reported crimes were cleared by an arrest. In 641 cities with a population of 25,000 to 49,999, 21.4% of reported crimes were cleared by an arrest. Further evidence of your bad luck — the FBI reports that less effort goes into investigating crimes against property (like yours) than crimes against persons. In 2000, 47.5% of violent crimes were cleared, compared to 16.7% of property crimes (excluding arson).

According to the laws of most states, shortly after being arrested, you will be charged either with a serious crime (felony) or a misdemeanor, all depending on the value of the articles you, ah, appropriated. A felony calls for a bigger fine (if applicable) and longer imprisonment (more than a year) than a misdemeanor. Because yours is a criminal matter, not a civil case, you must make a first (initial) appearance in a trial court (or district court) for a hearing (your arraignment).⁶ One of about 9,065 full-time authorized judges serving in 71 statewide trial court systems of general jurisdiction will most likely preside.⁷

Because the Constitution bans secret accusations, your appearance is public unless you request otherwise, and you must be present at this hearing (if you were a juvenile, your hearing would most likely be private). You enter a plea, and the judge determines whether there is sufficient evidence to schedule a trial. The answer is yes. You get a court-appointed lawyer (if you can't afford to pay for one). You ask to be released on little or no bail (the money or other security you leave to guarantee your presence at trial). Our next panel looks at the likelihood of your being released.

Sources: Chart: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 2000, Section IV, Table 25, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/00cius.htm. "Criminal Law: An Overview," http://www.nolo.com. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Court Organization Statistics, http://www.ojp.usdog.gov/bjs/courts.htm.