TLDR
- A prefile investigation is the stretch between the day the police take a report and the day a prosecutor files a charge or declines one.
- The police gather evidence and recommend charges, and a prosecutor, not a detective or a judge, decides whether anything gets filed.
- Being released, or hearing nothing for months, does not mean the matter is closed.
- A prefile defense lawyer works before the charging decision, while the prosecutor has read only the police side.
What a prefile investigation means in Arizona
Prefile means before filing. A criminal case in Arizona does not exist until a prosecutor files a complaint in a court or a grand jury returns an indictment. Everything before that moment is the prefile stage. You have no case number, no court date and no judge.
That gap is the prefile investigation. It starts when the police learn of an alleged offense. It ends when the prosecutor files, when the prosecutor declines, or when the filing window closes with nothing filed.
The term covers misdemeanors and felonies alike. A bar fight reported to Scottsdale police and a felony assault reported in Phoenix sit in the same stage until a prosecutor acts. For the week-by-week picture of the wait itself, read what happens when you are under investigation but not charged.
How people end up in a prefile investigation
Most prefile clients arrive one of three ways.
The first is a report with no arrest. Someone calls the police after an argument, a neighbor dispute or a workplace complaint, and a Phoenix police officer, or one from any Valley city, writes it up as assault or disorderly conduct. A detective’s voicemail is the most common signal, and we cover whether to call the detective back in its own post.
The second is a DUI arrest with a blood draw. A phlebotomist draws blood at the station or in a van, and you go home that night, often without a court date. The complaint waits for the lab result, which takes weeks or months. During that wait you are in a prefile investigation on a DUI case.
The third is an arrest followed by release, where you walk out of the jail with release paperwork and no complaint on file.
In our own prefile files, more than half end with a charge filed. People treat silence as a closed case. It is more often a slow one.
Who decides what during the prefile stage
The police investigate. A patrol officer writes the first report. A detective then picks it up, interviews witnesses, pulls video and tries to interview you. The detective writes a supplement, lists the charges the police recommend, and sends the file to a prosecutor. The police recommend. They do not charge.
The prosecutor decides. In Maricopa County, felony reports go to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, where a charging attorney reads the file and picks one of three paths. File, decline, or send it back to the detective for more work. Misdemeanor reports inside a city go to that city’s prosecutor.
The judge comes last. No judge sees a prefile investigation. A clerk who finds nothing on file under your name is telling you the prosecutor has not acted yet. Nothing more.
The defense has no formal seat at this table, which is the whole reason prefile work exists.
How a prefile investigation ends
The prosecutor declines. A charging attorney reads the report, finds the evidence thin or the witness unreliable, and writes a decline. A written decline is the outcome every prefile client wants, and when it comes we send you a copy.
The prosecutor files. A misdemeanor arrives as a complaint in a city or justice court. A felony arrives as a direct complaint or a grand jury indictment in superior court. You learn about it by a summons in the mail, by a call from your lawyer, or by a warrant. A summons sent to an old address becomes a missed court date and then a warrant.
The detective closes the file without sending it. The supplement reads “closed pending further information.” This is not a decline. The file reopens if a new witness calls or a lab result returns.
The window closes. The prosecutor’s filing window runs one year on most misdemeanors and seven years on most felonies, counted from when the police learned of the alleged offense, and the charge is lost once it passes.
As of 2026, the Maricopa County Superior Court and most city and justice courts post new filings online within a few days. We search those records every week for every prefile client, and you are free to look up your own name.
The Law Behind This
| Charge or relief | What the law says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Misdemeanor assault | A.R.S. § 13-1203 makes causing physical injury a class 1 misdemeanor, placing someone in fear of imminent injury a class 2 misdemeanor, and touching with intent to injure, insult or provoke a class 3 misdemeanor | The most common prefile report, and the one most often declined when the only evidence is one person’s word |
| Aggravated assault | A.R.S. § 13-1204 raises an assault to a felony when it causes serious injury, involves a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, breaks a bone, or follows entry into a private home | A felony report goes to the county attorney, and a charging attorney often reads it weeks after the detective finishes |
| Disorderly conduct | A.R.S. § 13-2904 treats fighting, unreasonable noise and abusive language as a class 1 misdemeanor, and reckless handling or display of a deadly weapon as a class 6 felony | The weapon version turns a neighbor dispute into a felony prefile investigation |
| Domestic violence designation | A.R.S. § 13-3601 attaches a domestic violence label to an assault or disorderly conduct charge between family members, household members, co-parents or current or former romantic partners | The label changes the arrest rules at the scene, and a prosecutor rarely declines a report with it without a reason on paper |
| Dangerous drug possession | A.R.S. § 13-3407 makes possession or use of a dangerous drug a class 4 felony, with a first offense eligible for misdemeanor treatment when the drug is not methamphetamine, amphetamine, LSD or PCP | A pending lab test on a seized substance is a frequent reason a file sits for months before a charging decision |
| DUI with a blood result pending | A.R.S. § 28-1381 bars driving while impaired to the slightest degree or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours of driving | The complaint usually waits for the blood result, so a DUI arrest with no court date is a prefile investigation until the lab reports |
What a prefile defense attorney does during the investigation
Prefile defense is a different job from trial defense.
We send a letter of representation to the detective and to the prosecutor’s office that will read the file. From that day, every request to talk to you comes through us, and the charging attorney sees a defense lawyer attached to the file before the decision gets made. We return the detective’s call, learn what the detective has and wants, and decide with you whether any statement helps.
We put a defense submission in front of the charging attorney when the record supports one. Witness statements the police never took. Medical records. A timeline. It goes to the prosecutor before the decision, because after the decision the same material becomes a plea negotiation instead of a reason not to file. In one felony assault prefile matter, the prosecutor read the defense material, declined to file and closed the investigation.
We watch the courts. Every week, for every prefile client, we search the superior court, the justice courts and the city courts for a new filing under your name. When one appears, we see it before the summons reaches your mailbox, and you appear on a date you know about instead of on a warrant.
We keep you informed by video. Each weekly check and each development gets a recorded update, so you are not guessing for months about whether anything moved. Zachary Divelbiss founded the firm on that habit, and the firm holds 250+ five-star Google reviews.
On a DUI prefile matter, Brielle Schumpe’s team puts the agency on notice to preserve the blood sample, so an independent lab retests it once the case is filed. Prefile fees are flat, with payment plans, and sit on our pricing page.
What to do while charges are under review
Keep every message, photo and receipt from the day in question. Do not delete a thread because it looks bad.
Do not contact the person who made the report. A text to the accuser becomes a witness tampering allegation, which often gets filed when the original one would not. When the report carries a domestic violence designation, a release order often bars contact already.
Update your mailing address. A summons goes to the address in the police report. If you have moved, tell your lawyer and update the MVD.
Do not post about the incident online. Prosecutors screenshot.
Write your own account once, date it, and give it to your lawyer. Then say nothing else about it to anyone. The one sentence people most regret in these files is the one they thought cleared things up.
Our Results
The client faced a class 6 felony charge of disorderly conduct with a dangerous allegation and a domestic violence designation in Maricopa County Superior Court. The dangerous allegation carried a presumptive prison term of 2.25 years and a permanent felony record. The prosecutor amended the charge to a class 1 misdemeanor and dropped the dangerous allegation, and the client received 18 months of supervised probation with no prison and no felony record. Read the full result.
The client faced a class 6 felony aggravated assault charge for entering a private home with intent to assault, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. The exposure was a presumptive year in prison and a violent felony record. The case resolved as a class 1 misdemeanor at sentencing, and the client received one year of supervised probation with no jail and no felony record. Read the full result.
The client faced a twelve-count indictment in Maricopa County Superior Court, with three felony aggravated assault counts, eight misdemeanor assault counts and one disorderly conduct count, all with a domestic violence designation. We secured the client’s entry into the Maricopa County Attorney’s domestic violence diversion program, and after the client completed every condition the prosecutor moved to dismiss and the judge dismissed all twelve counts with no conviction and no probation. Past results do not predict a future one. Read the full result.
Talk to a prefile defense attorney before the charging decision
Once a complaint is filed, the prosecutor’s office defends its own charging decision, so the prefile stage is the one point where it has not committed to a position. Call Future First Criminal Law at 602-900-7625 and tell us what you know so far, whether that is a detective’s card, a blood draw with no court date, or a letter you did not expect. Phones are answered around the clock and consultations are scheduled during business hours. Our Phoenix criminal defense attorneys handle prefile matters across Maricopa County, and our case victories show the results. We keep good people out of jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does prefile mean in a criminal case?
Prefile means before a charge is filed. The police have a report and a prosecutor has a decision to make, but no complaint or indictment exists yet. You have no case number, no court date and no judge during this stage.
Is a prefile investigation the same as being charged?
No. A charge exists only when a prosecutor files a complaint or a grand jury returns an indictment. A prefile investigation is the stage before that, and it ends with a filed charge, a written decline, or a filing window that closes.
Who runs a prefile investigation in Arizona?
The police run the investigation and a prosecutor makes the charging decision. In Maricopa County, felony reports go to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and misdemeanor reports inside a city go to that city’s prosecutor.
Will I get a letter when charges are filed?
Usually a summons goes to the address in the police report, and it is the least reliable notice in the whole process. Mail to an old address becomes a missed court date, and a missed court date becomes a warrant.
Why did my DUI arrest not come with a court date?
The officer drew blood instead of relying on a breath test, and the complaint waits for the lab result. Those results take weeks or months to come back. You are in a prefile investigation until the prosecutor files on the result or declines.
What happens to my prefile case if charges get filed?
The same lawyer continues on the filed case, and the prefile work carries forward. The defense submission, the preserved evidence and the witness statements become the start of the defense instead of something gathered after the first court date.
How do I find out if charges were filed against me in Arizona?
Search the court records under your full legal name and date of birth, starting with our case lookup guide. A clean search today means nothing was filed as of today, and nothing more.
How much does prefile representation cost?
It is a flat fee for one year of prefile representation, published on our pricing page, and payment plans are available. The fee covers the letter of representation, the detective contact, the weekly court checks and the defense submission.