When
someone has been accused of a crime, this sets in motion a series of legal
processes with both sides arguing their case.
The various types of cases range from a misdemeanor all the way up to a
felony. The possible punishment for the
defendant will depend on his plea, a prior record and the severity of the crime
he is being accused of.
The
prosecutor
in a criminal case represents the people or citizens of the jurisdiction in
which the crime was committed. It is his or her job to prove the guilt of the
accused by using evidence and legal argument.
The
defendant is represented by a defense attorney, either assigned by the court if
he cannot afford one on his own, or by an attorney he has hired. The defense attorney must represent his
client to the best of his ability and he must always act in his client’s best
interest. He will often advise his
client of the best action to take based on the merits of the case and the
evidence being presented against him.
Any discussions between the defendant and his attorney are considered
“attorney client privilege” and cannot be shared with anyone other than the
parties involved.
The
trial and prosecutorial process is known as a criminal procedure. This is overseen by a judge to insure that
both sides are staying within the boundaries of the law and that the trial is
carried out in a fair and impartial manner. Most criminal trials are a jury
trial, where the verdict is determined by 12 of the defendant’s peers. During the jury selection process, both the
defense attorney and prosecutor must agree on those selected to serve on the
jury. Once selected, the members of the jury are not permitted to discuss the
details of the case outside of the deliberation room and may not discuss it
with family members and friends.
Some
defendants opt for a bench
trial. A bench trial is allowed if
the accused waives their right to a jury trial and the court agrees. In a bench trial, the judge makes the final
decision as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant and the verdict is
treated the same as if the case were tried with a jury. These processes are in
place to insure that when a citizen is being accused of a crime, that he has
the proper legal counsel and is treated in a fair manner. There are also rules
in place governing the conduct of both the judge and prosecutor. Although the legal system does have some
flaws, it ultimately is designed to provide justice which protects those
wrongfully accused as well as those found guilty.
MayaQA
is the largest repository of factual questions and answers on the Web. This site features an ever-growing (1 million+) answers
to common questions in multiple languages. Questions are neatly
categorized by field of interest. MayaQA offers the most
targeted contextual advertising platform money can buy, with 90%+ of all
traffic derived from organic search engine queries. For more information
and details please visit http://mayaqa.com
