An accessible and dedicated criminal defense attorney who is dedicated to fighting for individuals that have been charged with a crime. Free consultations are available.
If you have been arrested and charged with a crime, you are feeling confused, scared, nervous, and probably countless other uncomfortable emotions.
The questions are racing through your head at an alarming rate: What do I do? Who do I tell? Do I need help? Who do I call for help is this going to ruin my life? Am I going to prison?
Attorney Roseann Ivanovich understands what you are going through and can answer your questions. Listed below are just a few to help.
There are a large number of questions to be answered and options that need to be explained to you. It is your attorney’s job to determine what is important and what applies to your case, Roseann Ivanovich can answer all the questions you have.
Call the local, family-owned Roseann Law at 219-791-1700 for your FREE consultation today.
What should I do?
- The first thing you should do is contact Roseann Ivanovich at 219-791-1700.
- Second, take some comfort in knowing that you have found someone who has the answers and can help.
Am I in trouble?
- If you have been arrested and charged with a crime then the answer is yes, you do in fact have a problem that you will need help with
Will I go to jail or prison?
- Depending on the type of crime you have been charged with, there is a chance that you could go to jail or prison.
- This chance is dependent upon many factors. This is what your attorney is for. It is her job to find out the answers to these questions and present them to you in a manner that allows you to make an informed decision regarding your options.
Should I worry?
- Anyone charged with any crime should be seriously concerned.
- However, you should not have to worry about whether or not your rights as an individual are being represented and protected. Roseann Ivanovich will investigate your case and give you all the information you need in order to get through this ordeal.
- Attorney Ivanovich will obtain information from the prosecutor, police and all other witnesses about the criminal charges filed against you.
- After reviewing this information, she may be able to challenge in court the legality of some or all of the evidence against you.
- If the court rules that evidence was illegally obtained, this evidence may not be used against you. Attorney Ivanovich can then assess the strengths and weaknesses of the prosecution’s case.
What kind of case am I facing?
- Criminal offenses are divided into two major categories: misdemeanors and felonies.
- Misdemeanors are punishable by no more than one year in jail.
- Felonies have potential sentences of more than one year in jail.
- All criminal charges are serious and you should consult with an attorney at the earliest possible stage in your case.
What Are the Classes of Criminal Charges?*
What are my rights?
- Under the law, if you are charged with a crime, you have the following rights:
- You are presumed to be innocent
- The prosecution must prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before you can be convicted of a crime
- You are entitled to a trial by jury, consisting of a panel of citizens who reside within the county
- You cannot be required to testify
- You are entitled to be represented by an attorney of your choice
- If you cannot afford an attorney, the court may appoint a public defender to represent you
- You can confront and cross-examine the witnesses testifying against you at trial
- You can require witnesses to appear on your behalf
- You can appeal a guilty verdict to a higher court
What Are the Procedures I Can Expect?
Generally, a criminal case begins with an arrest by the police, after they think they have probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed.
The police then files a criminal charge against a person in a court. Sometimes, however, a criminal charge will be filed against a person based upon information brought to the attention of a prosecutor by the police or a private citizen.
A court may then order an arrest warrant issued. The person charged with a crime may then be arrested. After an arrest, a person charged with a crime is usually allowed to post a bond to be released from custody. Bonds may usually be posted in cash directly to the jail or the clerks’ office of the town or county.
Be aware, if you use a bondsman, none of the money you post will be refunded. If you pay your bond directly to the jail or clerk you may be able to use your bond money to hire Attorney Ivanovich.
After a bond is posted an initial court hearing is scheduled. At this hearing, a plea of “not guilty” is entered. Further court proceedings are then scheduled.
Ultimately, a criminal charge is either dismissed, a plea agreement is negotiated to resolve the charge, or the case proceeds to trial.
A trial may be submitted to a judge as a bench trial or to a jury of citizens, a jury trial. If a person is convicted of a criminal offense at trial, a judge will then determine what sentence is to be served.
If a plea agreement is submitted, a judge must approve the guilty plea. The sentence may be an amount of time agreed to by the prosecutor, the defendant, and his or her attorney.
Alternatively, an open plea is one where the defendant pleads guilty and then the sentence to be imposed is argued to the judge with the judge making the final determination.
A person pleading guilty or who is found guilty at trial may be placed on probation for a period of time, in addition to any fine or jail sentence which is imposed.
No penalties may be imposed upon a person who is found not guilty at trial.
