Essay: Criminal law proceedings

As civil law, criminal law is typically the aspect af American legal system that most people have to care and identify. All of the public medias such as television and newspaper often transmit criminal issues to the citizens as a regular basis.
Because most of criminal issues relate to real-life issues, most of the American also have a high awareness about it. In this part, readers can see an overview of the foundation of criminal law through the prism of the basic procedural structure. Thanks to criminal law, the American society will be protected as much as possible.
Unlike civil law, criminal law relates to a crime, a criminal and a government. While people call the criminal party the defendant, the complaining party is the state or government. Any criminal proceeding has eight basic stages. In each step, those who have duties must ensure the accuracy to conclude appropriate conclusions.
The first stage in criminal proceedings is to arrest. The arrest warrant issues based on legally sufficient probable cause supporting the warrant affidavit. That is the reason why a police officer must repeat the sworn statement, other wise called Miranda Warnings. Arrest is not the end of the process of finding legal guilt. However, the evidence and probable motive can be used against the arrestees in a court of law.
After arresting, initial charge is necessary to publish and announce for the court, the accused and the prosecution. Trial and related documents are based on the formal charges which is made against the accused and filed prior to the arrest. A grand jury will be convened and issued an indictment in the court. Therefore, the court judge can hear the matter and determine if there is sufficient cause and evidence to make an arrest.
The next step in the trial process is initial appearance where contained the information in indictment is read to the defendant. In some instances, the defendant waives reading of the charges. He will be advised of the right to an attorney present prior to questioning and the matter of bail. If the court accepts the bail request, the court will set the amount of money that the defendant has to pay for government. If the court denies bail, the reasons will become part of of the record. However, the defendant has to ensure to appear at a future date. If he is absent when ordered, the money will be forfeited. On the other hand, if he appears in a specific day, the bail amount will be refunded for bail party.
The fourth step is preliminary hearing. Both parties must appear before court to assess the circumstances and validity of the restraining application through evidence and testimony. Living witness are called and evidence is presented other than the testimony of the witness. At preliminary hearing, the defendent has the right to confront his accusers and question but may not do at the grand jury proceedings.
After preliminary hearing and before criminal case goes to trial, both sides have to show the evidence in the pretrial discovery. This time is also for pretrial motion and double jeopardy requests. The prosecution has an absolute duty to expose and produce all evidence intended for trial use against the accused.
The next step is trial which is an important organization and planning tool. As with civil law, there are rules of criminal procedure in both state and federal system. In terms of procedure, the paralegal is as critical to a successful lawyer in the criminal area as in civil. The lawyer must depend on the paralegal to prepare everything. This includes what is missing, drafting the motions or letters to secure the missing materials and organizing the files, trial notebook and other evidence. At the trial, the judge is the trier of law and the jury is the trier of fact. In this connection, the judge must ensure the jury understand the applicable law, rules and other matters. Besides that, the jury has responsibility to determine beyond a reasonable doubt such as guilty or not guilty. When the jurors agree on the verdict, they advise the judge. If the jury acquits the accused, he will be released, bail amount will be returned and the case finishes. On the other hand, if the jury adjudges the defendant, bail can be continued. Only the judge is allowed set the sentence but the jury can recommend a sentence in some cases.
The accused is sentenced on the date set by the judge. While some states allow judicial discretion in setting to sentence, others have compulsory sentencing guidelines. There are certain guidelines and principles applied to ensure some level of consistency so that virtually similar crimes have similar sentences in every district within the state.
Finally, there is still an opportunity for the defendant to file an appeal. Although it can not change the verdict based on unsuitable jury analysis or weight of the evidence. However, in some cases that someone discovers new evidence, the verdict may be reserved on appeal and the case remanded for trial. The court will judge the newly discovered evidence and determine if indeed it is so compelling. The jury will continue to see the new evidence along with that which was known at the time of the original law.