After an arrest
Your first court date: what happens at an arraignment
Where you stand, what the judge asks, what bail conditions mean, and why the best thing to say is very little.
Isaac Boateng7 min read
Criminal defense in Providence
Your case, told to you straight
Isaac Boateng defends people charged with crimes in Providence and across the state's courts. One lawyer, from the first phone call to the last hearing.
Candor
You hear what the evidence shows, the week I see it.Preparation
Every report, video and lab sheet read before court.Presence
The same lawyer beside you at every hearing.
Why I do this work
Most of the people I represent have never been arrested before
They call the morning after, from a kitchen table or a parked car, and the first thing they want isn't a strategy. They want to know what will happen to them this week.
So that's where I start. I tell you what the charge means, what the next court date is for, and what I don't know yet. When the police reports and videos come in, I read every page and watch every minute, then tell you what they show, including the parts that are hard to hear.
I work alone, on purpose. The person you meet at the first meeting is the person who stands next to you at the arraignment, argues the motions and calls you afterwards. Nobody learns your case second-hand.
Isaac Boateng
Criminal defense lawyer
Guides
Plain guides to the first weeks of a case
Written for the person charged and for the family trying to help. Read them before the first call, and bring your questions.
DUIRefusing the breath test: two cases, not one
Saying no at the station can start a civil case about your license beside the criminal one. How the two differ, and what to do in the first ten days.
Isaac Boateng6 min read
Worked examples
Three typical cases, start to finish
Composites, not clients: the names and details are invented, but the steps are how cases like these tend to go.
- DUI
A first DUI after a holiday party
Dana, 34, was stopped on her way home and tested over the limit. No crash, no record.
DUI defenseWeek one: we ask for the cruiser video and the breath machine's records
Month two: the video shows a rushed roadside test, and we move to keep it out
Month four: the case resolves as a first offense, with a shorter loss of license
- Drug charge
Pills in a borrowed car
Marcus, 20, was stopped in his grandmother's car. Her prescription bottle was in the glove box.
Drug chargesWe get the pharmacy record and a letter from his grandmother
We ask why the car was stopped and searched at all
The prosecutor agrees to a diversion program; when he finishes it, the charge is dismissed
- Record sealing
An old conviction that keeps costing a job
Rosa, 41, pleaded to shoplifting at 22. Every background check still turns it up.
Sealing a recordWe pull her full record and confirm she qualifies
We file the motion with letters from her employer and her pastor
The judge grants it, and we go over what she can now say on applications
Sample matters
How some cases ended
Dismissed
Possession charge
After a motion about the search
2025
Not guilty
Simple assault
Bench trial, self-defense
2025
Reduced
Second DUI charge
Resolved as a first offense
2024
Sealed
Two old misdemeanors
Motion granted without a hearing
2024
Sample matters, written to show the kind of work; replace them with your own. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results don't predict the outcome of yours.
Start with a short phone call
Tell me what you were charged with and when your court date is. I'll tell you what happens next and whether I'm the right lawyer for it. The first call is free.
A phone call doesn't make me your lawyer; a signed engagement letter does.