Case Opening

Sample Documents for Case Opening

Police Report/Incident Report

DA CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

Charges

ID

Gang

Defendant

Witness/vict

DL #

ID

Friend

Weapon

Officer badge #

Case Opening from Arraignment Papers

Notice of Prelim

Open date

Mag Court case #

Judge

Event date

Court location

Case OpeningProbation Violation

Main Case Screen

edit case This link allows you to edit the case displayed.

copy case This link allows you to copy the case displayed, excluding case notes and related cases attached to that case. (NOTE: This link is used to open Probation Violation cases. When the original case is copied, select Petition to Revoke Probation as the case class. When this is done, CMS automatically updates the charging document to reflect that it is a Petition to Revoke Probation. Only charges with a conviction will be copied, so make sure the original case is closed before you copy it.)

Case Opening TipsDo I need to create a new defendant record? First, search Aliases for the defendant using as many wildcards (%) as possible to determine whether or not the defendant already has a record in the database.  The person I am searching for has multiple records; what do I do about this? Report this to your super-user.  Why can’t I get past Step 1 in the quick-case entry? CMS requires a subpoena address for each person in CMS.  Is there a certain stage that I should be selecting when I open a case?  If cases are opened prior to screening, your management may choose to open cases with an INT (Pending Intake), or IFI (Pending Intake/Further Investigation) case stage until the cases are screened.  For the majority of districts, officers file the criminal complaint in Metro or Magistrate Court before the case is referred to the DA’s Office.  In this situation, selecting the stage that best represents the case’s current status is best.  Please ask your super-user what your office policy is.If I’m opening a felony case, should I automatically select “District Court” as the case type? No.  It is important that the case type and court city both reflect the court that the case is currently being heard in.  This will ensure that the court address on subpoenas and automated victim notifications is correct.What is entered in the opened date? The date the referral paperwork was stamped received by your office, is the date the case was referred to your office and should be reflected in the opened date.  Do I need to enter witnesses on all cases? Yes.  You will need this data to generate witness lists and subpoenas.How do I know which charge code is the right one? If you have questions regarding charge codes, it is always best to ask an attorney or your super-user.Do I need to enter victims on all cases? Yes.  You will need this data to generate witness lists and subpoenas, and/or register victims to receive automated notifications.  The victims should be listed on each charge they were a victim of.

Quick Case Entry Follow-up:

If you are using the quick-case entry to open cases, you will need to return to the defendant, crimecase, and possibly charges screens to enter the remaining necessary information such as:defendant markings, aliases, filing dates, warrant data, defense attorney, judge, and victim data.