This article is written for someone who has just been arrested, or whose family member has. It is deliberately plain, because the hours after an arrest are confusing and there is very little time to think.
The first few hours
Four things matter. Stay calm. Do not answer questions about what happened — you are not obliged to explain yourself, and a statement made after arrest can be used against you. Do not consent to a search; consent has to be voluntary, and declining does not put you in a worse position. And get a lawyer involved as soon as possible. If you are detained, tell whoever you are calling that you are in custody, and say where.
Family can call on your behalf. You do not have to be the one to do it, and often you cannot.
Why early involvement actually matters
Not because everything is decided in the first day. It matters because options exist early that do not exist later. Exculpatory information is easier to preserve while memories are fresh and documents have not moved. A charge is easier to resolve before a position has hardened. And the first person to explain the case to a prosecutor is often the person who shapes how it is regarded — usually the defence.
What a lawyer does at this stage
- Learns the charge, the alleged facts and what evidence exists
- Advises on what to say, and to whom
- Checks whether the arrest, the search or the statement was proper
- Addresses bail, and argues it rather than waiting for it to be set
- Begins the work that determines what the case looks like later
Where the case is heard
Usually the court follows where the alleged conduct happened. Most Queens County criminal matters come before the criminal court at Kew Gardens. Nassau County matters are handled in Nassau. There are exceptions — federal court, City Court, family court and others handle different categories — so the specific court depends on the charge. If you have paperwork, the court name on it is the fastest way to find out where you stand.
Common mistakes after an arrest
- Trying to explain the situation to the police, in detail, before speaking to a lawyer
- Deleting messages, posts or anything else — do not do this, and say nothing about it to anyone
- Not telling a lawyer about prior convictions, pending cases or a warrant, because it seems unrelated
- Missing a court date because the paperwork was not read
- Posting about the arrest, which is read as though it were addressed to a jury
- Assuming a charge will be dismissed because the facts sound unfair
The last one deserves emphasis. The law is not the same as what is fair. A case can be entirely sympathetic and still be properly prosecuted. The defence is about what the evidence can prove, not about who is a good person — and that is a distinction worth understanding before deciding how much to worry.
A charge is not a conviction
An arrest is not a conviction. Many cases are resolved without one — by dismissal, by a negotiated charge that differs from the arrest, or by another disposition. But that outcome is not something anyone can promise you before seeing the evidence, and anyone who does is telling you what you want to hear rather than what is likely.
What to bring or send when you call
- The exact charge, if you know it
- Where you are, or where the person is, and whether they are detained
- The date and place of the arrest
- Anything on the paperwork, including a court date and the court name
If you do not have any of that, call anyway. It can be worked out from a name and a date.
Last reviewed
Criminal defence · 3 minute read · Published September 11, 2025