Steps in an Arizona Criminal Case
People facing charges usually want two things. A map, and an honest sense of how long each leg takes. Here is both, in the order it actually happens in Arizona.
Not every case passes through every stage. Most stop well short of trial.
Investigation and Charging
Some cases begin with an arrest. Many begin months earlier, with an investigation you know nothing about, or with a detective calling to ask for your side.
That call is the single best moment to involve a lawyer, because charges have not been filed and a charging decision can still be influenced. It is also the moment people most often talk themselves into a case, which is why our guide on speaking with investigators is blunt about it.
A prosecutor decides what to charge and at what class. That decision is not final and it is frequently negotiable.
Arrest or Summons
Not every case starts in handcuffs. For many charges, the first contact is a summons in the mail directing you to appear.
A summons is not good news and it is not a mistake. It means charges exist.
Initial Appearance
If you are arrested, you must be taken before a magistrate promptly, and if that does not happen within 24 hours you must be released. At that hearing the court states the charges, advises you of your rights, appoints counsel if you qualify, and sets release conditions.
This is where custody gets decided, and it matters enormously to everything downstream. Our guide to bail and release conditions covers what the judge weighs and how conditions get changed later.
How the Charge Becomes Formal
Arizona uses two routes for felonies, and the State picks.
- Preliminary hearing. A judge hears limited evidence and decides whether probable cause exists. Your lawyer can cross examine witnesses, which is the only pretrial opportunity to do so in most cases.
- Grand jury. Prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury without the defense present, and the grand jury returns an indictment. This is the route the State chooses in most felony cases, for reasons covered in our guide to probable cause hearings.
Misdemeanors proceed on a complaint without either step.
Arraignment
The formal reading of charges and entry of a plea. Arizona requires it within 10 days of the charging document if you are in custody and within 30 days if you are not.
The plea is not guilty in essentially every case, because nobody has seen the evidence yet. Counsel can often waive your appearance entirely. Details are in our guide to what happens at arraignment.
The trial clock starts here. Under Arizona’s speedy trial rule the State must bring you to trial within 150 days of arraignment if you are in custody, 180 days if released, and 270 days in complex cases. Those periods can be extended and certain time is excluded, so the practical date usually lands later.
Disclosure
The State must make its reports available by the preliminary hearing, or by the arraignment where no preliminary hearing is held. Supplemental disclosure follows, covering witnesses, statements, physical evidence, recordings, and expert material.
This is where a case stops being a rumor and becomes a file. Police reports, body camera footage, lab results, and witness statements all arrive here, and reviewing them is what makes any later decision informed rather than blind. Our guide to evidence in criminal cases covers what is required and what to do when it does not arrive.
Expect weeks to months. Lab work in drug cases is frequently the slowest piece.
Motions
With the file in hand, the defense litigates.
Motions to suppress evidence from an unlawful search or an improperly obtained statement. Motions to dismiss. Motions to preclude prior convictions or other act evidence. Motions challenging the grand jury proceeding. Motions addressing forensic testing.
A granted suppression motion frequently ends a case, because in many prosecutions the seized item or the statement is the case. Motions are typically due well before trial, and hearings can add weeks.
Plea Negotiation
The overwhelming majority of Arizona criminal cases resolve here rather than at trial.
Negotiation usually runs alongside motion practice, and the strength of a pending suppression motion is often what moves an offer. Courts frequently set a settlement conference where a judge other than the trial judge discusses the case with both sides.
Diversion, reduced charges, and an undesignated class 6 felony are all possible outcomes. What you give up in exchange is covered in our guide to plea agreements.
Trial
If no resolution is reached, the case is tried. Jury selection, opening statements, the State’s case, the defense case if one is presented, closing arguments, instructions, deliberation, and verdict.
The State carries the burden throughout and must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. You do not have to testify or present anything. The verdict must be unanimous. Our guide to what happens at trial walks through each phase.
Sentencing
Conviction does not mean immediate sentencing. The probation department prepares a presentence report covering the offense, your history, victim input, and a recommendation. Both sides may present aggravating and mitigating evidence at a hearing.
Arizona sentencing runs on ranges built around a presumptive term, with prior convictions and dangerous offense allegations shifting the range substantially. Our guide to how sentencing works covers the structure.
Appeal and Post Conviction Relief
A defendant convicted after trial may appeal to the Arizona Court of Appeals, and Yuma County falls within Division One. An appeal is decided on the trial record rather than on new evidence, and it adds a year or more.
A defendant who pleaded guilty generally cannot take a direct appeal and instead proceeds by post conviction relief, which is a separate process with its own deadlines. Those deadlines are short and missing them is usually fatal.
Cases charged in the federal system follow a different track entirely, with their own rules and sentencing guidelines.
Where the Record Lives
Felony filings in this county move through the Clerk of the Superior Court at the Yuma County Justice Center. Misdemeanors filed inside city limits sit with the city court, and offenses in unincorporated areas sit with the justice court precinct covering that area.
Talk to an Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney
Knowing the map helps. Having someone who has walked it many times helps more, particularly in the early stages where the most can still be changed. Citrine Law handles criminal defense throughout Yuma County, including violent crime allegations and cases charged near the border. The consultation is free, we work in English and Spanish, and nothing you tell us leaves this office. Call us today.