The criminal court process begins when a victim is referred to Tubman. Referrals are most commonly made through the police or by people calling themselves. Legal advocates will also watch the court calendars looking for cases involving victims of domestic abuse. For assistance call:

612.825.3333 (Suburban Ramsey and Washington counties)

A Tubman advocate will obtain the police reports to find out some information about you and the abusive partner, along with the description of what happened and what the charges are.

After the general information is gathered, an advocate will contact you and explain how a no contact order works and the criminal court process as well as what the advocate's role will be in assisting you.

The first court appearance is the arraignment. This is where the defendant is told the charge and they enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. The judge will also tell the defendant if there are any conditions that he/she must adhere to, for example a no contact order. If a plea of guilty is entered a pre-sentence investigation is ordered and a sentencing date is scheduled.

If a plea of not guilty is entered, the process moves onto the second court appearance, called the pre-trial stage. During the pre-trial the prosecutor will meet with you and talk about the case and find out what you would like to happen. The prosecutor will also meet with the defendant and try to resolve the issue. It is at this point that the majority of cases are settled. If a settlement is not reached, then the case will go to a jury trial.

The length of time spent on the case varies from person to person. If you call in a complaint to the police, the police have 24 hours to take the perpetrator into custody. After 24 hours, the perpetrator is issued a citation. If a perpetrator is taken into custody, the arraignment is held within 36 hours. If a citation is issued, it could be up to a month before the arraignment. It usually takes four weeks from the arraignment to the pretrial, and another two to four months for a jury trial.