How Criminal Cases Flow - In Specific The Case Involving Dr. Logan in Ozark

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
[email protected]
334-790-1729
Date: Apr 11 2021 2:32 PM

ALABAMA:      Some have recently asked how decisions are made as to what court a case ends up in.

Every felony goes to District and/or Circuit Court of the county where the incident occurred. No matter what agency makes the arrest, unless Federal, the case has to go to District and Circuit Court.

EXAMPLE:    If Dothan Police Department arrests you for a misdemeanor offense, that is a crime of which the sentence does not exceed one year, that case goes directly to Dothan Municipal Court.

If Dothan Police arrested on a felony offense, even if there is a misdemeanor offense also,  all of those cases would go to District Court and then Circuit Court.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY:     You hear some District Attorney’s and the Attorney General refer to themselves as the “CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER”. Well that is a lie. The District Attorney does not make arrest. The law enforcement agency conducts an investigation and the results of that investigation is presented to the District Attorney. While the District Attorney is often times notified of a major case and might be on the scene or the District Attorney Investigator might be on the scene as a consultant and to assist in what will be allowed in court or needed to prove the case. It is not the District Attorney’s job to investigate but to prosecute the case.

The District Attorney and Attorney General are Chief Prosecutors and not Chief Law Enforcement Officers.

ARRESTS:    A case begins by a officer making an arrest on the scene or someone obtaining an arrest warrant. In these two instances the case first goes to District Court. After an arraignment with District Court, and a preliminary hearing if requested, the District Court Judge binds the case to Grand Jury. The District Court has the authority to dismiss the case but the District Attorney can still carry the case to Grand Jury.

GRAND JURIES:   A group of 18 people who meet in secret who takes testimony to see if “probable cause” exists to indict a person. While a defendant has the right to testify before Grand Jury, most often they do now. The prosecutor can be in the Grand Jury but the defendant’s attorney can not. After hearing the Grand Jury testimony and the Grand Jurors get ready to vote, the prosecutor is required to leave the room. Most fore persons of Grand Juries do not realize it, but they are the boss and not the District Attorney of the Grand Jury.

AFTER INDICTMENT:   If Grand Jury indicts the case is then set for an arraignment. A process where the defendant either (1) signs a Plea of Not Guilty/Waiver of Arraignment for and the attorney submits to the court, or (2) the defendant appears before the Circuit Judge and can have the indictment read to them or waive the reading or the indictment. The court also determines does this defendant have an attorney, can they afford an attorney, and if determined they can not afford an attorney the court appoints one.

NOW BACK TO THE REASON FOR THIS ARTICLE:   In the case of Dr. Logan in Dale County. The business is located in the city limits of Ozark. Normally the complaints are filed with the local agency of jurisdiction. The Sheriff has jurisdiction all over the county, but they attempt to let the complaints originate with the municipality of jurisdiction. In the case of Dr. Logan that is the City of Ozark Police Department. 

The complainant in this case did file their complaint with Ozark Police Department. The Criminal investigators took that complaint, once made with Patrol Division, and investigated the complaint.Once completed and consult with the Chief of Police, the results of the investigation is compared with the laws of the State of Alabama. 

Law Enforcement, District Attorneys do not make the laws, the Alabama Legislature does. The Judge does not make the law but often times has to interpret the law.

Once the facts and law are compared, the decisions are made does the facts make a misdemeanor or felony. This does not mean a agency ( unknown who Ozark Police consulted but they could have then consulted the District Attorney ) the arrest warrants are obtained.

In the case of Dr. Logan, once the facts were gathered and the laws compared to the facts, the decision was made this was a misdemeanor therefore the case rests with the Ozark Municipal Court. The prosecutor for the Ozark Municipal Court is Ray Kennington who will have the burden to prove the case.

If there is a conviction then the defendant has the right to appeal to Circuit Court for the case to be heard before a jury or just a judge.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF THE 33rd JUDICIAL CIRCUIT:     Some of the protestors had District Attorney Kirke Adams on their signs. Again, investigations are conducted by the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction the report is filed. The District Attorney is not the investigator. He is the prosecutor. However he does not prosecute the Misdemeanors made in a municipality where that municipality has their own court, judge, prosecutor and court staff.

I can assure you if the case had been placed in District Court then District Attorney Kirke Adams would prosecute the full extent of Alabama Law. But the case is not in District Court and Adams does not make that decision.

Hopefully this explains briefly the process and why things are sitting as they are.

AND KIRKE ADAMS SHOULD BE THE

ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL

HE HAS MORE COMMON SENSE IN HIS PINKY

THEN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS

IN HIS ENTIRE BODY

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