What are the stages of a California criminal case?

Arrest, arraignment — within 48 hours for anyone in custody under Penal Code section 825 — bail or release, then for felonies a preliminary hearing within 10 court days under Penal Code section 859b, arraignment on the information, pretrial motions and conferences, and trial under the speedy-trial clocks of Penal Code section 1382.

A California prosecution moves through checkpoints, each with its own leverage. After arrest, an in-custody defendant must be arraigned within 48 hours (Penal Code section 825); the court states the charges, appoints counsel where needed, takes a plea, and addresses release. Misdemeanors then proceed through pretrial conferences toward resolution or trial. Felonies add the preliminary hearing: within 10 court days of the plea for defendants in custody (Penal Code section 859b), a magistrate tests whether probable cause supports each charge, and charges that survive are refiled in an information, which the defense can attack by motion under Penal Code section 995. Pretrial litigation follows — discovery, suppression motions under section 1538.5, negotiation — before trial within the section 1382 deadlines unless time is waived. Most cases resolve by negotiated plea somewhere along this path, and where they resolve matters: outcomes available pre-filing or at the preliminary hearing stage often differ from those available on the courthouse steps. Sentencing and post-conviction relief follow any conviction.

Authority: Cal. Penal Code § 859b