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Graphically, the Community Court process proceeds as follows :

The Community Court process generally begins with an arrest.  Marion Superior Court administrators and county prosecutors look at details such as the type of offense, criminal history of the defendant and the location where the crime occurred to determine whether the person belongs in the Community Court.

Community Court staff meet with defendants to conduct an interview and collect general demographic information.  Based on the interview, staff make a recommendation to the Court on the sentence or treatment that might be appropriate for the defendant.

If a defendant has not hired legal counsel, the defendant may be represented by a Public Defender who convenes a confidential meeting with the defendant.  Either the Public Defender or the defendant's legal counsel work with the Prosecutor to negotiate a workable plea agreement.  The defendant is usually not present for the plea agreement meeting.

The defendant next proceeds to an Initial Hearing with the Community Court Commissioner who may ask the defendant questions.  The Prosecutor and Public Defender make recommendations and the Commissioner makes the determination whether the case is qualified for the Community Court.  If not, the defendant will return to the Criminal Court and his/her case will follow the traditional misdemeanor trial process.

At the Initial Hearing, the defendant decides how he/she will plead.  80% of defendants plead guilty and waive their trial rights.  If a defendant does not plead guilty, their case will proceed to the Criminal Court.

As a result of a guilty plea or sentence at the Initial Hearing, the defendant will receive a sentence that includes some sort of service or treatment program within the community.  The defendant is then required to appear at the Community Court as scheduled to perform their community service work or report to their court-appointed treatment program.  Community Court staff conduct Compliance Reviews on a daily basis to ensure that defendants who are scheduled to perform community service or sanctions are in compliance with their sentence.