After an Arrest in Cumberland County: From Booking to First Court Date

The arrest itself

Most people who are arrested have never been through it before, and the first hours are confusing. You are taken into custody, your belongings are collected, and you may be asked questions by officers who are friendly one minute and formal the next. This is the moment when the most important thing you can do is also the simplest one. Stay calm, be polite, and do not argue.

You can respectfully decline to answer questions about the facts until you have spoken with a lawyer. People often feel that explaining themselves will clear things up. In practice, a statement made in the middle of the night, while frightened, is the kind of thing that gets repeated back later in a way the speaker never intended.

Booking and the question of release

After the arrest, a person is generally taken to a facility to be processed. This usually includes recording personal information, taking fingerprints and a photograph, and logging the charges. How long it takes can depend on the hour, how busy the facility is, and the circumstances. It is not unusual for it to feel much longer than it is.

The next question is whether you can be released while the case is pending, and on what terms. This is where bond comes in. Bond is a financial or other condition that lets a person go home and promise to come back to court. A judicial official sets the conditions, and they can include more than money. They may include staying away from certain people or places, or reporting in. The firm handles requests to reduce a bond that seems too high for the situation.

What family members can do

If someone you love has been arrested, the waiting is hard in its own way. A few practical steps are useful. Gather the basics: the full legal name, date of birth, the place the person is being held, and the charges as best you can learn them. Write down names and times for anyone you speak with at the facility.

Be careful on the phone. Calls from a jail are often recorded, so assume that anyone could later hear what is said. Do not talk about what happened, who was involved or what the person might say in court. Keep calls short and kind, and save the details for a private conversation with an attorney.

• Bring the person's identification and any medication information if the facility allows it
• Keep a written log of every call, name and time
• Do not post about the arrest or tag anyone involved
• Hold on to receipts for anything paid toward a bond or fees
• Ask an attorney about the process before paying anyone who contacts you

Misdemeanors and felonies

The type of charge shapes everything that follows. The firm describes the broad categories this way: infractions, misdemeanors which carry up to two years, and felonies which carry more than two years. A felony charge generally means more is at stake and the case moves through the system differently from a misdemeanor. It is one reason to ask early which category the charge falls into, and what that changes.

Do not rely on the label alone. Two charges that sound similar can be very different in how they are handled, and a charge can be changed as the case develops. Your attorney reads the actual paperwork, not the headline.

The first court date

Sooner or later a first court date is set, and it is usually printed on paperwork you were given at release or soon afterward. Treat it as unmovable. Arrive early, bring your paperwork, dress neatly, and turn off your phone. If you have an attorney, tell them well in advance so they can plan to be there.

The first appearance is often shorter than people expect. In general it covers practical matters such as the charge, whether you have a lawyer, and what happens next, rather than a full hearing of the facts. Do not treat it as the place to tell your side of the story. That comes later and is best prepared with help.

This outline applies broadly to arrests in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Spring Lake and elsewhere in Cumberland County, but local practice and the type of charge can change the details. An attorney who works in these courts regularly can tell you what to expect for your own case.

Carl L. Britt, Jr., Attorney at Law, at 224 Dick St in Fayetteville, has practiced in Cumberland County since 1980 and was licensed in North Carolina that same year. Zachary D. McLaurin, who works with the firm, was an Assistant Public Defender and then an Assistant District Attorney in Cumberland County. It costs nothing to talk with the firm, and you only pay if you retain its services. The number is (910) 483-1176.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and the process in any given case can differ from the general outline above.