The importance and value of criminal procedure study

¶ … Criminal Procedure

In the United States, criminal justice is governed by the Constitution which provides fundamental principles and civil rights that must be protected in any criminal prosecution of individuals by the state. American criminal procedure outlines very specific requirements that police must satisfy in initiating criminal investigations, conducting those investigations, detaining subjects of investigations, securing authorization to conduct searches, executing arrests for past crimes, and for interrogating arrestees in police custody (Dershowitz, 2002; Schmalleger, 2008).

Likewise, American criminal procedure also outlines specific requirements with respect to providing competent legal representation to defendants, jury trials for serious criminal charges, and for prosecutors in terms of disclosing information to the defendant's legal counsel. Criminal procedure also provides the crucial distinction between the burden of proof in criminal matters, which is, by design, much more difficult to satisfy than the corresponding burden of proof for civil matters (Dershowitz, 2002; Schmalleger, 2008).

Constitutional Rights and Civil Procedure in Modern American Policing:

In modern American policing, it is essential to understand criminal procedure because of the fundamental distinction between police authority to investigate past crimes. Whereas police have the authority to initiate criminal investigations of any crimes they observe first hand and to take action to apprehend violators in the process of committing crimes, that authority is substantially different with respect to past crimes not witnessed by police first hand (Zalman, 2008).

Police may enter private property to pursue criminals in flight, to investigate crimes they observe, or to protect life and limb in emergency situations. However, where police investigations involve crimes already committed, they are limited in their investigative and arrest authority to the Fourth Amendment constitutional requirement to obtain a search warrant by first presenting evidence sufficient to establish probable cause to a judge or magistrate authorizing their search for specific evidence of particular crimes or an arrest warrant granting them the lawful authority to execute arrests for crimes not observed by police first hand (Schmalleger, 2008).

It is also essential for police to understand the rules of criminal procedure that pertain to their authority to subject individuals to spontaneous criminal investigations, such as where police wish to question a potential suspect to a crime without sufficient probable cause to compel compliance or to conduct any search of the individual's person or his or her personal property or effects (Dershowitz, 2002; Schmalleger, 2008). In that respect, modern American criminal procedure does not allow police to initiate random investigations or to search individuals without specific probable cause of criminal activity.

The consequences of impermissible detention and searches without sufficient probable cause or reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct can result in civil liability on the part of the police agency involved. The most serious types of criminal procedure violations, such as those depriving individuals of fundamental civil rights and freedoms can also trigger serious criminal violations under federal law in addition to civil monetary penalties (Schmalleger, 2008; Zalman, 2008).

Modern American criminal procedure establishes very strict rules that limit the authority of police to question or interrogate criminal suspects as well. Once an individual has been validly arrested, police must advise the individual of his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and of his Sixth Amendment right to the presence of legal counsel during any questioning before police conduct any interrogation.

The consequences of failing to understand the requirements of criminal procedure in this respect can potentially negate the entire value of all the police work leading up to the arrest of the person responsible for criminal conduct. Specifically, American constitutional criminal procedure requires that any evidence collected in violation of the rights of the suspect be excluded from introduction at trial (Dershowitz, 2002; Schmalleger, 2008; Zalman, 2008).

Criminal Procedure and the Distinction Between Civil and Criminal Burdens of Proof:

One of the most significant aspects of American criminal procedure is the difference between the civil burden of proof and the criminal burden of proof. Specifically, in civil matters (such as law suits over money), the applicable burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, which means the litigants must establish relevant facts sufficiently to make them more likely than not (Dershowitz, 2002; Zalman, 2008).