Criminal procedure overview and principles

Criminal Procedure is composed of the rules governing the series of proceedings through which the criminal law is enforced. In the United States, local and state government defines most crimes, though the federal government has adopted its own criminal code, Title 18, to deal with activities extending beyond state boundaries or having special impact on federal operations. States also have statutes that set out the framework for criminal procedure, subject to important constitutional limits. For example, the United States Constitution Bill of Rights provides basic protections including the right to an attorney, the right to not testify, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a jury trial, among others. State constitutions may increase, but not take away from the federal protections.

The American criminal system is an adversarial and accusatorial model. Criminal procedure must balance the defendant's rights and the state's interests in a speedy and efficient trial with the desire for justice. Therefore, the rules of criminal procedure are designed to ensure that a defendant's rights are protected. This provision, known as the presumption of innocence, may in practice operate somewhat differently in different countries. Similarly, all such jurisdictions allow the defendant the right of a counsel and provide defendants that cannot afford to have their own lawyer some lawyer at the public expense. The efficiency of this system depends greatly on the jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, the lawyers provided to indigent defendants are often overworked or incompetent, or may not take much interest in the cases they have to defend.

The rules of criminal procedure are different from those of civil procedure, because the two areas (criminal and civil) have different objectives and results. In criminal cases, the state brings the suit and must show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while in civil cases the plaintiff brings the suit and must only show the defendant is liable by a preponderance of the evidence.

After a crime is committed, it is reported, an investigation is conducted. What follows are six steps in criminal procedure, the first of which is the arrest and booking. An arrest is made, and the investigation may occur in rapid sequence if the offense is committed in the presence of a law enforcement officer. After the arrest, the prisoner is transported to a secure police location where the booking takes place. This is an administrative procedure which records the defendant's name, the crime charged, and other relevant information about the defendant, such as telephone number and address, photograph, fingerprints, etc.

The second step is the arraignment, when the defendant appears in court and enters a plea of guilty or not guilty, or sometimes nolo contendere (no contest). The defendant is presented with a written accusation dealing the facts of the crime and his or her involvement in the crime. The written accusation may be presented by a grand jury, a prosecutor or a police officer. If the defendant enters a not guilty plea, a date for trial is set. Bail is either set or the defendant is required to be detained, kept in jail until the trial. Bail could range from being "released on your own recognizance," in other words, you are on your honor to appear at the next hearing, to many thousands of dollars. When a higher amount of bail is set, a bail bondsman is often called to provide the bail payment in exchange for a fee and a lien against property, as collateral, of the defendant. If bail is posted, the defendant is released but must show up at the next hearing, or bail will be forfeited.

The third step is a preliminary hearing, a hearing in which a judge determines whether the defendant should be held for trial. At this hearing, the prosecution has the burden of providing sufficient evidence to the judge that a crime has occurred and that the defendant committed the crime.

The fourth step is the trial, which includes opening statements, examination of witnesses and presentation of evidence, closing statements, charging the jury (giving the jury its instructions), the verdict rendered by the jury after due deliberation, and entering of the verdict (either guilty, guilty of a lesser included or related offense, or not guilty). After a verdict is issued, the defendant may try a post-trial motion, such as a motion for a new trial.