Every criminal offense in New York State requires apprehension by the police and some form of detention. You can be detained for a couple of hours in a holding cell and then be given a desk appearance ticket (DAT). It is a ticket after you’re processed, determined not to have any outstanding warrants, and determined to be a good risk meaning you’re going to probably come back to court on the appointed date and face the judge. Sometimes desk appearance tickets are occasioned with the posting of a cash bail at the police precinct.
Many times the law does not allow for a desk appearance ticket, or the police, in their sole discretion, don’t think it’s appropriate in this instance. Then you’ll be physically held in custody in a jail in a detention cell. You can be held there for many hours until you’re brought to central booking. Central booking is usually a detention center at the courthouse. There a court file is created, you are added to a court calendar, you are brought up to see a judge. Most times you will not have an attorney present, unless you or your family was wise enough to contact criminal defense counsel who should be at the courthouse waiting for you to come up to handle the bail application.
There is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done when a person is arrested so the criminal history of the person is updated and an investigation into the crime can be completed, if need be. One of the other steps during the arrest process is the retrieval of fingerprints that can also be put into the system and used to find evidence of the crime.
If you are in need of legal counsel in New York State, please feel free to contact Grunwald & Seman, P.C. and we would be happy to assist you.
