Recently a reporter had to explain to a bunch of readers why a child sex offender had his charges dismissed and why they shouldn’t freak out about it.

As a private investigator you need to understand this before a client questions you about it!

The key is…

Sometimes when charges are initially filed in the “lower court”, that’s not where they really should be filed.

You see, the lower court (sometimes called municipal court) is for misdemeanor crimes and small financial torts (like evictions and small claims court). So when felony charges are first filed in the lower court they are “dismissed for future indictment” because they are supposed to be filed in the “upper court” where felonies are handled.

That means they are dismissed from the lower court and (pretty much) immediately filed in the upper court.

In the upper court (sometimes called “common pleas court”), the prosecutor will present the charges and evidence to a grand jury who will decide whether or not to “indict” the defendant.

So if a burglar, arsonist, murderer or even a sex offender has charges filed against them in lower court (maybe because it’s the middle of the night and the upper court isn’t open), the next business day the charges will be dismissed for future indictment (DFI) from the lower court and re-filed in the upper court.

Good stuff to know if you’re doing criminal background checks because your clients will expect you to be able to explain it!

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye, P.I.

P.S. – Don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To Be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it on the home page of my blog.