The Post-Indictment Phase of a Felony Case in Mississippi - Part 1: From Arraignment to Pre-Trial Motions

If you've been following along with this series on felony prosecutions in Mississippi, you'll remember that we divided the process into two distinct phases: the pre-indictment phase and the post-indictment phase. We covered the pre-indictment phase in an earlier post, taking you from arrest through the grand jury process. Now it's time to tackle what happens after that indictment comes down.

Once the grand jury issues an indictment, your case moves from whatever local court was handling preliminary matters into circuit court, where a circuit judge will preside over everything from here on out. This is where things get more formal, more complex, and frankly, more serious.

Before we dive in, I need to give you the same disclaimer I always do: Mississippi has 82 counties organized into 22 circuit court districts, and each district has different procedures. Even within the same district, individual judges may handle things differently. What I'm describing here are the general procedures, but you absolutely need to work with someone who practices felony criminal defense in Mississippi to understand how these processes work in your specific courthouse with your specific judge.

The Arraignment: Your Formal Introduction to Circuit Court

The first thing that happens in the post-indictment phase is the arraignment. This can sometimes be waived – meaning you don't necessarily have to be there – but that depends entirely on the individual judge. Here in Hinds County, for example, we have some judges who will allow you to waive your arraignment and others who won't. It's very courtroom dependent.

At the arraignment, there's a specific ritual that takes place. Your lawyer will stand up in front of the judge and say something like: "Judge, this is my client. He has been served with a copy of his indictment, he's read it, he understands it, he wishes to waive a formal reading of the indictment, enter a plea of not guilty, and ask for a trial date."

What happens next depends on your bond status. If you're out on bond from the pre-indictment phase, your lawyer will ask that you be allowed to remain free on that same bond. If you're not out on bond, your lawyer may ask for a bond to be set or for your existing bond to be reduced.

The judge will then set a trial date. Some judges will also set other important dates like status conferences, omnibus hearings, or motions deadlines. Again, this varies by judge, and you need to understand what each of these means for your specific case.

Discovery: Finally Getting to See the Evidence

One of the most important changes that happens once you're in circuit court is that special rules regarding discovery kick in. Discovery is the process by which your lawyer can compel the State to turn over evidence that can be used to help build your defense.

In the pre-indictment phase, we talked about how the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure don't entitle the defense to much information from the State at the early stages. That changes dramatically once an indictment is issued.

What You Can Get from the State

After indictment, you can file motions for discovery that force the prosecution to provide:

• Police reports and witness statements
• Physical evidence and lab reports
• Audio and video recordings
• Expert witness reports and conclusions
• Lists of witnesses the State intends to call

This is crucial information that allows your defense team to understand exactly what evidence the prosecution has and begin crafting a defense strategy accordingly.

Subpoenas Duces Tecum: Getting Evidence from Third Parties

Circuit court also opens up the ability to use what we call subpoenas duces tecum. This is a Latin term that essentially means "bring it with you." A subpoena duces tecum is a command from the court to a third party requiring them to provide specific evidence – either something physical or something digital.

Phone records are a perfect example of this. In many felony cases, phone records can be crucial evidence, either for the prosecution or the defense. After indictment, we can ask the judge to issue a subpoena duces tecum to the phone company, compelling them to provide those records.

The same principle applies to other types of records: bank records, medical records, employment records, surveillance footage from businesses – any documentary evidence that might be relevant to your defense.

Other Types of Subpoenas

Along with subpoenas duces tecum, you also have access to regular subpoenas, which we call subpoenas ad testificandum (meaning "show up and testify"). These compel witnesses to appear and give testimony, either at depositions or at trial.

Pre-Trial Motions: Your Opportunity to Challenge the Case

The post-indictment phase is also when various pre-trial motions become available. These are formal requests to the court that can significantly impact how your case proceeds.

Motions to Suppress

Motions to suppress evidence are among the most important tools available in criminal defense. If law enforcement violated your constitutional rights during the investigation – through an illegal search, an improper interrogation, or any other procedural violation – a successful motion to suppress can result in crucial evidence being excluded from trial.

Sometimes, suppressing key evidence can effectively end the prosecution's case. If they lose the evidence they need to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, they may be forced to dismiss the charges entirely.

Motions to Dismiss or Quash

You can also file motions to dismiss the entire indictment or motions to quash (invalidate) certain parts of it. These motions typically argue that the indictment is legally insufficient – perhaps because it fails to charge an actual crime, contains fatal defects, or was obtained through some procedural violation.

While these motions are granted less frequently than motions to suppress, they can be powerful tools in the right circumstances.

Plea Negotiations: The Reality of How Most Cases Resolve

During this post-indictment phase, there are usually ongoing negotiations between the prosecution and defense about potential plea agreements. The reality is that most cases that reach this stage do result in a plea rather than going to trial.

Once we reach the post-indictment phase, there are really only three ways for a case to be resolved:

1. Dismissal by the State (rare, but it happens)
2. A plea agreement (most common)
3. Trial (less common, but always a possibility)

When Cases Get Dismissed

Dismissal by the State is relatively rare, but it can happen in several scenarios:

• The judge grants a motion to dismiss based on legal defects in the case
• The State loses crucial evidence after a motion to suppress is granted
• The prosecution is convinced (usually through our advocacy) that they can't prove the case or that the defendant didn't actually commit the crime

Understanding Plea Agreements

A plea agreement (also called a plea deal or plea bargain) is a negotiated agreement between the State and the defendant. The defendant agrees to change their plea from not guilty to guilty – either to the entire indictment, to part of it, or to what we call a lesser included offense.

This is an exchange, which is why we call it a "bargain." The defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a sentencing recommendation from the district attorney's office.

Here's something crucial to understand: that recommendation is not binding on the court. The judge doesn't have to follow it. However, if the judge decides not to follow the agreed-upon recommendation, you can usually withdraw your guilty plea and proceed to trial.

Most judges will follow plea recommendations, but smart defense attorneys will sometimes go to the court ahead of time with the prosecution to make sure the judge is comfortable with the terms before we finalize the agreement.

What's Next

In the next part of this series, we'll walk through what happens when plea negotiations don't result in an agreement and the case proceeds to trial. We'll cover jury selection, opening statements, the presentation of evidence, and how trials actually work in Mississippi circuit courts.

Understanding the post-indictment phase is crucial because this is where most of the critical decisions in your case will be made. The discovery process reveals what you're really facing, pre-trial motions can eliminate evidence or even entire charges, and plea negotiations determine whether you'll resolve the matter without the uncertainty of a trial.