At the preliminary hearing, it is determined if there is probable cause. Either the state prosecutor or a grand jury decides whether the case goes forward. If it does, the defendant is arraigned. They are again notified of their rights and asked to enter a plea. Adjudication (trial, basically) occurs to determine guilt or innocence.
The main purpose of the preliminary hearing is to establish whether there is sufficient evidence against a person to continue the justice process. There are three outcomes you can get from a preliminary hearing: the charges can be dismissed or dropped, a bail or detention hearing can be held, or a guilty plea can be found. There are many challenges that face the defendants, prosecutors, and the entire court when it comes to the preliminary hearing. Most prosecutors would rather go before a grand jury rather than hold a preliminary hearing. Going before a grand jury is favorable to the prosecutor because the jury only hears what the prosecutor has to say and will then deliberate whether the case should go to trial or not.
Witnesses are present in the courtroom to give testimonies about facts pertaining to the case. Witnesses can be present to help the accused proving his or her innocence or they could be there to make sure the accused punishment fits the crime they have committed. Witnesses fall into three categories; plaintiff’s witnesses, government’s
If the person is not charged it is so they can further the investigation, if they are charged it is so they can remain at liberty until the court date. The decision whether bail should be granted is made by the Custody Officer, under section 38 of PACE. They can refuse bail if the name and address can not be discovered or is not genuine. The magistrates also have the power to grant bail if the police have charged the suspect and have refused to grant bail. The suspect must be brought before the Magistrates court at the first available opportunity.
Denise and Mercedes Background/Review of the Literature: A description of what has already known about this area and short discussion of why the background studies are not sufficient. Summarize what is already known about the field. Include a summary of the basic background information on the topic gleaned from your literature review (you can include information from the book and class, but the bulk should be outside sources) Plea Bargaining is a widely known form of plea and is known as "the process whereby the accused and prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge." Plea bargaining usually occurs prior to a trial but in some cases may occur anytime before a verdict is rendered.
The judge will determine if the prosecution of defense has a stronger argument B. Defendants are released if enough evidence is not provided at preliminary hearing III. Arraignment A. Defendants are formally charged with the crime they are being held for B. The defendant enters a plea 1.
Depending on the crime: misdemeanor, felony, or petty offense; punishment is rendered after a conviction is determined. Mitigation by the defense attorney occurs prior to sentencing. According to The Law Offices of Patrick Maher (n.d.), “after a guilty finding, the judge gives the attorney an opportunity to speak on behalf of the client. This is called mitigation, defined as “to make less severe.” This is a very important part of the process and can have a dramatic impact on the judge’s decision.” The crime and circumstance dictates punishment and sentencing. Punishment can include probation, imprisonment, community service, and fines.
Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response Misty Moore, Victoria Hardin and Elizabeth Ortiz CJA/224 September 19, 2011 Rick Rice Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response What is prosecutorial discretion? When a crime happens evidence is gathered, witnesses are found and a case file is established all the information. Due to an overabundance of case files, prosecutors review each file and which will be brought to trial. When there is enough evidence to convince the prosecutor the person suspected of committing the crime is guilty without a reasonable doubt, he or she will pursue the case to trial. Many decisions pertaining to a case going to trial and how actively they pursue the case are left up to prosecutors and how they view the evidence and what the evidence means to them.
If the offender has committed more than one crime he can either do consecutive time which is one sentence after another or concurrent which is the sentence will run at the same time. (Sobiech, 2012) Not all offenders will go to jail, some will have to pay a fine, be put on probation, or a combination of all. “Some cases are appealed and the offender’s attorney must file the appeal. An appeal is to ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final judgment. No new evidence can be entered during an appeal.” (Hill, 2012) Once the appeal is settled it either gets reversed or stands as is and the offender is sent to start his
A trial is a criminal proceeding that examines in the court of the issues of fact and relevant law in a case for the purpose of convicting or acquitting the defendant. With sentencing, you have two different types you have consecutive sentence and concurrent sentence. With consecutive sentence it is when offenders found guilty of more than one charge may be ordered to serve one sentence after another is completed. With a concurrent sentence it will run at the same time. Then you have the corrections, when an offender is charged then the correction stage begins.