Ask Officer Michelle – Question #523
Posted by janiedoe
If a person were defending another and himself, why would he be taken to jail on a 243 or 245 charge? He spent 3 days in jail, never saw a judge, and was released with no court date. My main question here is, since he never saw a judge, got no court date, can he be brought up on these charges again? I don’t understand why the charges were not dismissed in court in front of a judge if he spent 3 days in jail after being arrested.
Not complaining, just curious. Thanks!
Dear janiedoe,
I must read the police report before I can determine what happened. The charges (243 of the California Penal code for Assault with the Intent to Cause Great Bodily Injury, and 245, Assault with a Deadly Weapon), are both felony charges. If a person is arrested on a Friday night, they may stay in jail until Monday when the courts convene again. This may have been the case. Sacramento County doesn’t have night court, and the courts are not open on the weekends or holidays.
I am not certain why this person wasn’t seen by a magistrate. Perhaps the District Attorney didn’t file charges. I would suggest that you call the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office at 916-874-6218 to find out what happened. They can also answer any questions about the case as well.
If charges are dropped, they are dropped for good and the person wouldn’t be brought up on criminal charges for that particular crime again. They can be sued in a civil setting, but that isn’t a criminal matter. Keep me posted.
Officer Michelle
