Criminal Case Flow Chart

Clients typically ask how court works. I created this flow chart to show you how I expect a typical criminal charge will make its way through the court system, be it in Kittitas County or Yakima County. This is based on my experience working on an approximated 10,000 criminal cases within our Washington State court system. Every case is different, so this is just a model. Your case might be able to skip certain steps, or we might build extra steps in...it all depends on your case.

It is also important to note that DUI cases contain multiple extra steps regarding your Department of Licensing hearing process. That process is called an "administrative" process, so it is not done directly through the criminal court. It is instead handled in its own arena (and therefore, I did not include it here).