| Charges - modification |
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The District Attorney’s office has some latitude in deciding what charges to make in your case; they review the arrest reports, victims’ statements and your prior criminal record. They may have to wait for laboratory test results or information from forensic experts. Then they will exercise their judgment to file charges on each offense listed by the police or they can decide not to file any charges at all, depending on the seriousness of the case. It is possible that the prosecution will file more charges than they actually intend to prove at trial, to facilitate plea bargaining. If a charge is bound over from the magisterial district court, the DA can file additional charges that are "cognate offenses" (offenses that share several elements). They may also be willing to reduce or eliminate charges. In short, what gets bound over for court by the MDJ may not necessarily be what you end up facing. Your charges can change. |







