Aside from when a law enforcement officer issues a criminal citation, criminal processes typically begin when a judicial official, usually a magistrate, issues processes such as a Warrant for Arrest, a Magistrate's Order following a warrantless arrest, or a Criminal Summons upon the testimony of a prosecuting witness or witnesses, with the primary prosecuting witness known as the complainant.
Following an arrest, at an initial appearance, a judicial official sets the bail bond and other conditions of release.
All felony trials are jury trials held in Superior court, although some preliminary hearings including the first appearance often occur in District Court before a probable cause hearing, a waiver of the same, or indictment by grand jury.
Criminal defendants who cannot to afford a private defense attorney are served by Indigent Defense Services, a state agency, through a public defender's office in certain judicial districts or a court appointed private attorney.
2008 - Murder of Eve Carson 2012 - Killing of Faith Hedgepeth 2015 - Chapel Hill Shooting This crime-related article is a stub.