Yuma, AZ asked in Criminal Law for Arizona

Q: What does it mean when a case says long form citation filed about 6 times ?

I have court pending and on the case it says long dorm citation filed about 6 times

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1 Lawyer Answer
Zachary Divelbiss
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Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Phoenix, AZ
  • Licensed in Arizona

A: This is a legal phrase that means your case took longer to be filed than normal. Typically, police will come into contact with someone and immediately write them a ticket for what ever crime they feel is appropriate. When they long form a ticket, it typically means they had to do more investigating in order to charge the suspect with a crime. This commonly happens in a DUI where they draw someone's blood but can't charge them until they get the blood results back. In other situations, the police are unsure of whether they should charge the person with a crime because they are not lawyers and do not know all of the crimes. In that case, they do the investigation and submit their report to the prosecutor's office as "long form" and allow the prosecutors to charge the crimes once/if they find it appropriate. It is commonly a GOOD thing for criminal defendants to have their cases long formed because it means the case isn't cut and dry. This gives the defense lawyer room to poke holes in the investigation and provides better negotiating leverage. Feel free to contact us with more questions or about your case directly at 480-935-6545 or Zach@Divellaw.com

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