Criminal Prosecution Process
- A crime is committed.
- The appropriate law enforcement agency investigates and either issues a citation, arrests the offender, or forwards the case to the prosecuting attorney for review.
- If case is forwarded to prosecuting attorney and prosecutor finds a criminal charge is appropriate, a petition or complaint is filed in District Court. The standard process is as follows (additional hearings may be scheduled at the request of either party):
- If a misdemeanor charge:
- Arraignment Hearing
- Pre-trial Hearing
- Trial
- Sentencing
- If a gross misdemeanor or felony charge:
- First Appearance (Rule 5 Hearing)
- Second Appearance (Rule 8 Hearing)
- Omnibus Hearing / Pre-Trial
- Contested Omnibus (Rasmussen)
- Trial
- Sentencing
- If a misdemeanor charge: