Criminal law · Madrid and the surrounding region
Arrests, rapid trials at Plaza de Castilla, drink-driving, domestic violence allegations and drugs at Barajas airport. Phone or message us on WhatsApp day or night; we work in English.
Talk to a lawyer today
Anyone arrested in the city of Madrid is taken to the duty judge in the Plaza de Castilla court building, within 72 hours at most. Anything said in a police statement before then goes into the report the judge reads. If it is you or someone close to you, ring +34 711 29 14 66, including at night and on bank holidays.
Written and reviewed by Jimena Sastre, criminal lawyer.
Updated on 4 October 2026.
Many of the people who call us live in Madrid for work, study here or are passing through. We speak to the person held and to their family in English, and the court provides a free interpreter for every hearing.
The duty court for people held in the capital is in the Plaza de Castilla court building, at the northern end of the Castellana. Rapid trials and minor-offence hearings are held there too. Since 31 December 2025 the old investigating courts have been sections of the Tribunal de Instancia de Madrid, so that is the name you will see on a summons.
Spain has no police bail. It is the duty judge who decides whether you walk out free, walk out on conditions, for example handing over your passport and reporting to the court on fixed dates, or are remanded in custody. Remand needs an offence with a maximum of at least two years (or less, with a previous conviction), plus a real risk such as flight or tampering with evidence.
Requests from other countries, whether a European Arrest Warrant or an extradition, are decided by the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, wherever in Spain the arrest took place. The grounds for refusing surrender are limited, so we look at the warrant before the first hearing.
Arrested in Madrid
The law lets you keep silent, appoint the lawyer you want and have a relative told where you are. You must be handed your rights in writing in a language you follow, and you can keep that sheet throughout.
Where to start
Pick the case closest to yours and ring or message us with those details.
Someone I know was arrested last night
Give us the station name, or which force made the arrest. We see them alone before any statement and stay with them until the duty judge has decided.
I was stopped at Barajas with drugs in my luggage
At Barajas the Policía Nacional checks passports and the Guardia Civil checks luggage at customs. If you did not know what the bag held, messages, tickets and payments can help show it, and we gather them before you give a statement.
I got into a fight on a night out
Whether the other person needed stitches or surgery makes a large difference to the sentence. Ask the bar or nearby shops to keep their camera footage straight away, before it is recorded over.
My partner or ex has reported me
The duty judge can order you to stay away from her from the first hearing. Keeping to that order is your responsibility alone, even if she gets in touch: breaching it means a prison term of between six months and one year.
I was breathalysed or caught driving without a licence
These cases are normally handled as rapid trials. Driving without ever having held a licence can mean three to six months behind bars, a fine or unpaid work. We check that the second breath test came at least ten minutes after the first and that you were told of your right to a blood test to check the result.
I have a rapid trial date
A deal at the duty court is only possible if the offence carries up to three years, the prosecutor’s request cut by a third stays within two years and nobody has joined as a private prosecutor. Before you accept, we tell you what will go on your criminal record.
Another country wants me sent back
Hearings take place at the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. We check at once whether the warrant is valid and whether there are grounds to oppose surrender.
I have been robbed or attacked
We report it with you and act for you in the criminal case, asking for a conviction and for your losses to be repaid.
Worth knowing
Where the offence carries five years at most, the trial is held before the criminal section, which sits in San Blas, on Calle Julián Camarillo and Calle Albarracín. More serious cases go to the criminal sections of the Audiencia Provincial on Calle Santiago de Compostela. The Audiencia Nacional takes organised drug trafficking across several provinces, frauds with victims in more than one province and crimes committed abroad that Spain must try.
It becomes a criminal matter once the reading passes 0.60 mg/l in breath (1.2 g/l in blood), or once your speed is 60 km/h over the limit in town or 80 km/h over it on other roads. The court can impose three to six months’ prison, a six-to-twelve-month fine or 31 to 90 days of unpaid work, and in every case suspends your licence for over a year and as long as four. Declining to be tested risks a prison term of six months to a year and the same loss of licence.
Cocaine trafficking carries three to six years. Where the amount is substantial, the range rises to more than six and up to nine years, and the Supreme Court sets that line at 750 grams of pure cocaine. The lab’s purity analysis matters more than what the package weighs.
A first prison sentence of up to two years can be suspended if compensation is paid, or you commit to paying it. For foreign nationals, a sentence of more than one year can be replaced by expulsion from Spain, unless that would be out of proportion given your ties here. For EU citizens the bar is higher: expulsion needs a grave risk to public order or public safety.
When the injured person needed treatment from a doctor or surgeon beyond the first visit, the range runs from three months’ to three years’ prison, or a fine of six to twelve months. Without that treatment it stays a minor offence with a fine of one to three months, and it only goes ahead if the victim files a complaint.
How we work
Tell us which station or court has them and what the charge is. We quote the fee before we leave.
We speak to them alone before any statement and agree together whether to answer questions.
We ask the judge to release them and, if conditions are set, to keep them light.
We read the whole file, ask for evidence and appeal decisions that harm the defence.
Where a plea agreement works in your favour we negotiate it; otherwise we fight the case at trial. The choice is yours, made with the full picture.
FAQ
Yes. Arrest calls to +34 711 29 14 66 are picked up at any hour, weekends included. Anything else is dealt with in office hours.
We do. The person held is also entitled to a court interpreter at every hearing, free of charge.
If you ask, yes. Foreign nationals can have the consulate notified of the arrest and of where they are held.
Barajas is part of the city of Madrid, so you go before the Madrid duty judge at Plaza de Castilla. If the arrest is on a foreign warrant, the Audiencia Nacional deals with it.
Only if the judge allows it. Surrendering your passport and a ban on leaving the country are frequent conditions, and breaking them can land you in custody.
No. If you turn it down, the case is tried later before the criminal section. We tell you what sentence the prosecutor is asking for so you can compare.
At least a year and a day, and up to four years. If you accept a deal at the rapid trial, the ban is also cut by a third.
The police station fee is quoted by phone before we set out. Anything beyond that gets a written quote based on the work involved.
At Paseo de la Castellana 93, second floor. You can arrange to see us there or talk to us by video call.
Client reviews
Jimena Sastre ha sido una excelente abogada de inmigración que me ha guiado durante todo el proceso de solicitud de la nacionalidad española. Ha sido profesional, amable, siempre dispuesta a responder mis preguntas y me ha orientado correctamente. Su enfoque hizo que mi solicitud fuera mucho más sencilla y sin estrés, y la recomiendo a otros expatriados/inmigrantes que necesiten asesoramiento y asistencia legal para sus solicitudes de residencia o nacionalidad.
El equipo de esta firma ,son sencillamente los mejores, muy profesionales, responsables, y de completa confianza. 200% recomendables!!
Todos hemos visto alguna vez pelis de abogados, que hacen milagros en los juzgados, y hemos pensado, que en la vida real estas cosas no pasan… Pero los de SyC lo consiguen. Solo puedo decirles Gracias por estar a mi lado siempre! En hora buena por vuestro trabajo!
Also in English
Static map with the address and a link to Google Maps.
Open in Google Maps