Misdemeanors and civil infractions make up the largest part of the docket at the 35^th District Court.  In 2001, 8,382 cases, or 19% of the total caseload for 2001, were misdemeanor cases.  Of those, 6,047 traffic misdemeanors, while the remaining 2,335 were non-traffic matters.  28,999, or 66% of the overall caseload was made up of civil infractions.

Examples of traffic misdemeanors include: driving while license suspended, driving while license revoked, having an expired license plate, drag racing, violation of a Restricted license, having open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, and reckless driving.  Most misdemeanor violations require a court appearance before a judge.  Those that do not are called “payable violations.”

Violations such as expired plate, failure to report an accident, and driving with an expired license are examples of “payable misdemeanors.”  For these violations the defendant’s rights are located on the back of the citation that they receive from the police officer.  Should the defendant wish to pay the violation he is asked to sign the back of the citation admitting guilt and send payment to the court.  If a defendant wishes to contest the ticket he needs to request a hearing before the judge.

Examples of non-traffic misdemeanors would be assault and battery, domestic violence, possession of marijuana or drug paraphernalia and many types of local ordinance violations.   

For contested cases, or those that require court appearances, the first court appearance is called the “arraignment.”  Upon entering the courthouse the defendant is presented with an “Advice of Rights” form.  The defendant must read and sign the “Advice of Rights” prior to appearing before the judge for arraignment.

During the arraignment either Judge Lowe or Judge MacDonald will perform four specific tasks, namely: 1) Inform the defendant of his rights (the judge will verify that the defendant has read and signed the Advice of Rights form), 2) tell the defendant what crime he has been charged with, 3) tell the defendant what the minimum and maximum possible punishment is, and 4) ask the defendant how he will plea. 

If the defendant pleads Guilty… he will be sentenced (told his punishment) immediately.  If the judge would like more information before sentencing, the defendant will be referred to probation for a pre-sentence report.  The probation department will interview the defendant and develop sentencing recommendations for the judge.  The defendant will have the opportunity to review and discuss the recommendations prior to sentencing by the judge.

If a defendant pleads Not Guilty… to any misdemeanor violation, he will be scheduled for a pre-trial hearing.  At this hearing the defendant will have an opportunity to meet with a prosecuting attorney representing the community in which the violation took place.  If the prosecuting attorney feels that the defendant is a suitable candidate, he may be willing to offer the defendant a plea bargain.  Plea bargains are agreements wherein the defendant trades his plea of guilty in return for certain promises made by the prosecutor, most commonly being a reduction in the crime charged and a corresponding reduction in the punishment available to the court.  These plea bargains are typically set forth in writing on a document entitled “Stipulated Agreement” that both parties would have to agree to and sign.  If both parties agree to this “Stipulation” and the Judge accepts it, the judge will then sentence as he feels is appropriate. 

If no Plea Agreement is reached… the case will be set for either a bench trial, in which the judge decides the case, or a jury trial in which a jury made up of citizens would decide. Although a defendant is entitled to a jury trial, most choose to try the case before a judge, since it is less time consuming and often less expensive in terms of attorney’s fees. 

If the case goes to trial… the burden of proof falls on the prosecution.  This means that the prosecuting attorney representing the state or the local community must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.  In other words, it must appear to a reasonable person that the defendant did, in fact, commit the crime that he was charged with.

As stated above, in the case of a bench trial the prosecutor must prove his case to the judge.  In the case of a jury trial, the prosecution must prove their case to a jury.

If the defendant is found Guilty after trial… he will be referred to probation for interview and for determining sentencing recommendations.