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Unit 6 What is the Procedure in a Criminal Action?
UNIT 6
What is the Procedure in a Criminal Action?
A criminal action is a lawsuit brought by the state (also known as the people) against a person accused of a crime. If found innocent the person is released. If found guilty, the person is sentenced by the judge. Under law, a person is presumed to be innocent until:
Codes of procedure specify in detail the conduct of a trial. This is done to protect the rights of the accused person.
The first step is usually an investigation to determine who may have committed a reported crime. The investigators seek evidence to present in court. Usually an arrest warrant (written court order) must be issued by a court for the suspect to be arrested. Upon arrest, the suspect must be booked (fingerprinted and photographed). After the booking, a judge, in a preliminary hearing, determines whether the suspect shall be kept in jail or released on bail. Bail is a sum of money or property deposited or pledged to guarantee that the arrested person will appear for a preliminary hearing or trial. The amount in each case is set by the judge.
In some cases, the accused person may be released on his own recognizance. This means that the suspect promises to appear as scheduled without putting up bail. This usually happens if the accused is a reputable citizen with substantial assets.
For some minor offenses, including most traffic violations, the arresting officer may give the offending person a citation. This is a notice that identifies the offense and directs the person to:
The amount is a standardized fine for the offense.
In some states and at the federal level, an indictment by a grand jury is required before a person can be brought to trial for a felony (serious crime punishable either by death or by imprisonment for more than one year). An indictment is a written accusation, which declares that there is sufficient evidence to try the identified individual for a specified crime. A grand jury is a group of citizens selected to hear, in secret, the evidence of alleged crimes submitted by the prosecutor.
One who has not been indicted by a grand jury is given a preliminary hearing before a judge. The purpose of the hearing is to determine from the evidence whether the accused person should be released or held for trial as charged offender. After the filing of the formal charge, the accused person is called the defendant. A defendant is the person against whom a criminal (or civil) action is brought. In a criminal action, the state - the party bringing suit against the defendant - is known as the prosecution.
Before the criminal trial, the defendant is brought before the court to hear the formal charges. The defendant is also required to plead guilty or not guilty. This court proceeding is known as arraignment. If the defendant pleads guilty, the defendant is sentenced. If the plea is not guilty, the defendant must stand trial.
A Task 1. Match the following:
Task 2. Answer the questions:
B
Task 1. Make the summary and annotation of the text: Criminal and Civil Cases
Crime is a violation of a law that forbids or commands an activity. Such crimes as murder, rape, arson are on the books of every country. Because crime is a violation of public order, the government prosecutes criminal cases.
Courts decide both criminal and civil cases. Civil cases stem from disputed claims to something of value. Disputes arise from accidents, contractual obligations, and divorce, for example.
Most countries make a rather clear distinction between civil and criminal procedures. For example, an English criminal court may force a defendant to pay a. fine as punishment for his crime, and he may sometimes have to pay the legal costs of the prosecution. But the victim of the crime pursues his claim for compensation in a civil, not a criminal, action.
Criminal and civil procedures are different. Although some systems, including the English, allow a private citizen to bring a criminal prosecution against another citizen, criminal actions are nearly always started by the state. Civil actions, on the other hand, are usually started by individuals.
Some courts, such as the English Magistrates Courts and the Japanese Family Court, deal with both civil and criminal matters. Others, such as the English Crown Court, deal exclusively with one or the other.
In Anglo-American law, the party bringing a criminal action (that is, in most cases the state) is called the prosecution, but the party bringing a civil action is the plaintiff. In both kinds of action the other party is known as the defendant. A criminal case against a person called Ms. Brown would be described as "The People vs. (versus, or against) Brown" in the United States and "R. (Regina, that is, the Queen) vs. Brown" in England. But a civil action between Ms. Brown and Mr. Smith would be "Brown vs. Smith" if it was started by Brown, and "Smith vs. Brown" if it was started by Mr. Smith.
Evidence from a criminal trial is not necessarily admissible as evidence in a civil action about the same matter. For example, the victim of a road accident does not directly benefit if the driver who injured him is found guilty of the crime of careless driving. He still has to prove his case in a civil action. In fact he may be able to prove his civil case even when the driver is found not guilty in the criminal trial.
Once the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is liable, the main argument in a civil court is about the amount of money, or damages, which the defendant should pay to the plaintiff.
Task 2. Read and translate the text:
Criminal justice process in the USA
Basically, the steps in the criminal court processes are as follows: arrest and booking, arraignment, trial and appeals (if any).
A person who comes into contact with the criminal courts must initially be arrested. The arrest may take place with or without using a warrant. A felony is a serious offence punishable by death or imprisonment. A misdemeanor is a less serious offence punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail, or both. Even after an arrest the suspect may be released without being prosecuted for a variety of reasons: mistaken identity, lack of proper evidence, etc.
After the arrest is made, the suspect is booked. The booking card contains information such as the date and time of arrest, the charge or crime for which the person was arrested, the name of the arrested person, the name of the arresting officer. The accused is photographed, fingerprinted, and temporarily released on bail, if possible. The record or booking card is permanently kept in the files of the police department. On important cases, the prosecutor may be present at the booking, but usually he will enter the case during the arraignment or initial appearance of the suspect before a magistrate or other judicial officer.
At arraignment, summary trials can be held for petty offences without further processing. During the initial appearance before a magistrate, judge or justice of the peace, the accused is to answer the charges against him. During the arraignment procedure, the charge may be dismissed by the court for a legal reason. Once the judge finds a verdict of guilt, the accused is sentenced to jail or payment of a fine. The defendant may also be placed on probation for a specified length of time.
The purpose of preliminary hearing in the lower court is to determine whether there is a reasonable cause to believe that the accused committed the crime. It is here that a preliminary testing of the evidence takes place. As a result the accused may be released, or he may be placed on bail or moved back to jail until his case is tried by the higher court.
If there is reasonable belief that a crime has been committed by the accused, the prosecutor is given statutorily defined number of days to file formal charges against the defendant. The charge is filed on the basis of information from citizen complaints and police investigations.
Then another arraignment is held. If the defendant pleads guilty a date for him to be sentenced is set by the judge. If the defendant pleads not guilty, he may request to have a jury trial or be tried by the court without a jury.
Before imposing the actual sentence an investigation by the probation officer takes place to assist the judge in deciding on a penalty. The defendant may be fined, sentenced to jail, or placed on probation. During this period the defendant can appeal his conviction. As a rule, the appeal stays the execution of the sentence. If the appeal is unsuccessful or the defendant decides not to appeal, the penalty is imposed.
Task 3. Answer the questions:
C
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