The vast majority of the time, a criminal justice process is going to begin when a police officer places you under arrest. The only exception to this would be if you know there is a warrant out for your arrest and you turn yourself in. Any defense attorney San Diego is going to tell you that being aware of a warrant and turning yourself in will only help your case. Your defense attorney in San Diego is going to be able to argue that you are clearly not a flight risk otherwise you would not have turned yourself in in the first place. This is beneficial because it can help get you released until your court date with little to no bail requirements.
One of the first things your defense attorney San Diego is going to look at when they defend your case is why you were arrested in the first place. If the police officer that arrested you did not have a justified reason the entire case can get thrown out. Any evidence that was obtained after you were arrested would be considered illegally obtained evidence. Even if you committed the crime and they had evidence to prove it, they would have to throw it out if the police officer did something wrong when you were arrested.
When a police officer arrests someone it is because they personally observed the crime, they have probable cause, or an arrest warrant has been issued. During all of the stages of a criminal court process you have rights that must be protected. These rights include your right to remain silent and your right to be free from any searches without cause. If your rights are violated by the police officer then the court would have to dismiss your case as an unlawful arrest.
If you are going to pursue an unlawful arrest claim to get your case thrown out, you are definitely going to want to make sure you have a good criminal defense lawyer. Your lawyer is going to have to prove without a shadow of a doubt that your rights were trampled on by the police officer when you were arrested.