What Happens When You Get Indicted

Home Alone 2: Lost successful New York prima Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan expansive jury. While the indictment remains nether seal, and we don’t officially cognize the circumstantial charges, it is believed to impact Trump’s hush payments made to adult-film histrion Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

This is the archetypal clip successful U.S. past that a existent oregon erstwhile president has faced transgression charges. This is uncharted waters for our governmental system, and the question connected everyone’s caput is: What now? If you’re the erstwhile president speechmaking this, oregon if you’re facing an unrelated indictment of your ain (so atrocious your thunder has been stolen), here’s what you tin expect.

What is an indictment?

First things first, let’s clarify what an indictment is—and what it is not. An indictment issued by a expansive assemblage means determination is ceremonial accusation that a idiosyncratic has committed 1 oregon much crimes. To get an indictment, prosecutors indispensable contiguous an capable ground for transgression charges to a grand jury in a concealed proceeding. A expansive assemblage indictment is required for each national felonies.

(Side barroom here: “Grand jury” isn’t called that due to the fact that it means “special” oregon “important” jury. It derives its sanction from the information that it usually has a greater, oregon grander, fig of jurors than a proceedings jury.)

An indictment is not a conviction. That being said, national prosecutors are highly palmy successful convicting the immense bulk of radical indicted. Pew Research Center showed successful 2019 that national prosecutors’ condemnation complaint is implicit 99%.

There is besides a quality betwixt being indicted versus being charged. Both are steps successful moving a transgression lawsuit toward trial, but the main quality is expansive juries record indictments and prosecutors record charges. PrisonProfessors explains that not each charges effect successful a ceremonial indictment, but each indictments incorporate charges.

The way from indictment to last solution tin instrumentality years, truthful let’s instrumentality a look astatine what we tin expect now.

What happens aft an indictment?

The adjacent measurement pursuing the expansive assemblage indictment is the arrest. More specifically, aft prosecutors unafraid an indictment, they indispensable get an apprehension warrant.

As to what that apprehension physically looks similar for a definite idiosyncratic this week? According to the New York Times, portion astir defendants arrested connected felony charges get handcuffed, “it is unclear whether an objection volition beryllium made for a erstwhile president.” For instance, it’s emblematic for immoderate white-collar defendants to person their hands secured successful beforehand of them, arsenic opposed to the classical behind-the-back look.

Trump posted earlier this week that helium would beryllium arrested, but arsenic the Washington Post points out, helium besides has the enactment to voluntarily crook himself in—thus avoiding the request for instrumentality enforcement to physically bring him into custody.

What are the adjacent steps?

To review: First step, indictment—check. Next up, the apprehension (or voluntary surrender). Here are the adjacent steps to get to a last resolution, arsenic outlined by the Washington Post.

Process arsenic a defendant. Finger printing, mug shot, the full 9 yards. Whether Trump gets arrested oregon turns himself in, he’s getting that mug shot.

Arraignment. A idiosyncratic accused volition typically appear before a national Magistrate Judge wrong 24-72 hours aft the arrest. This is the nationalist tribunal quality wherever the suspect enters a plea of blameworthy oregon not guilty. Usually it’s “not guilty.” Trump is expected to look successful tribunal connected Tuesday.

At Trump’s arraignment, a justice volition find whether the erstwhile president needs to wage bail oregon adhere to definite restrictions pending a trial—or whether helium could beryllium released with nary bail oregon restrictions, aka “released connected idiosyncratic recognizance.”

Pretrial hearings. This is wherever the defence motions to disregard charges, exclude evidence, petition witnesses, and truthful on.

The trial. This is the main show, wherever the suspect is either recovered not blameworthy (and acquitted of each charges) oregon blameworthy (and sentenced accordingly). It looks similar Trump’s upcoming tribunal conflict volition beryllium the backdrop of his third bid for the presidency successful 2024. This is not a emblematic diagnostic of astir transgression proceedings, truthful if you were conscionable indicted and consciousness insecure astir your changeable astatine the presidency, don’t beryllium excessively hard connected yourself.