Full question:
district attorney claims i violated a restraining order and arrested me i asked what i did but all they would say is that we will have a plea bargin for you
- Category: Criminal
- Date:
- State: Colorado
Answer:
You have the right to know the charges against you in any US court, military or otherwise. However the amount of time between your arrest or detainment and when they tell you what the charge is can vary greatly.
They may be trying to build a case during your detainment and keep you out of their way while they do their job, or they may not have decided what to charge you with yet.
A defendant has, under the Sixth Amendment, the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. An indictment must allege all of the ingredients of the crime in order. The Supreme Court held in United States v. Carll (1882) that "in an indictment ... it is not sufficient to set forth the offense in the words of the statute, unless those words of themselves fully, directly, and expressly, without any uncertainty or ambiguity, set forth all the elements necessary to constitute the offense intended to be punished." Vague wording, even if taken directly from a statute, does not suffice.
The Sixth Amendment, which is applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, see In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 273-74 (1948), guarantees a criminal defendant a fundamental right to be clearly informed of the nature and cause of the charges against him. In order to determine whether a defendant has received constitutionally adequate notice, the court looks first to the information. James v. Borg, 24 F.3d 20, 24 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 333 (1994). "The principal purpose of the information is to provide the defendant with a description of the charges against him in sufficient detail to enable him to prepare his defense." Id.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the fundamental right to be clearly informed of the nature and course of the charges in order to permit adequate preparation of a defense. See Sheppard v. Rees, 909 F.2d 1234, 1236 (9th Cir. 1990).
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
