What are first and second appearances?
First and second appearances are tools to organize the General Sessions criminal court docket. First appearances generally occur 30-60 days after the arrest. Hundreds of defendants are summoned at the same time to answer basic questions about how their case is going to proceed. Criminal defendants declare their intention to hire an attorney or represent themselves. The presiding judge places the case on a tract to be resolved within 6 months or a calendar year. Murder charges, sex crimes and other time-consuming prosecutions are placed on the one year tract. The projection is an estimate. It doesnt necessarily mean the case will be resolved in the estimated time frame. Second appearances occur in less than six months from the date of arrest. Defendants and/or their attorneys are required to report whether the case will be a trial or a plea. A majority of the evidence involved in the case should be collected by the arresting law enforcement agency and provided to the defendants attorney
