Criminal Legal Process Essential Question: What relationship exists between citizens and the government?

Laws exist to protect the rights of individuals against the actions of others and to prevent chaos. Criminal Laws – protect the rights of individuals against the intentional OR accidental acts of others that damage their person or property Jury Duty – individual citizens may be asked to participate on a trial jury. They will receive a summons in the mail directing them to report to court on a specific date.

Arrest If a person violates a criminal law, they will have to go through the criminal justice system. If a person commits a crime, the first thing that happens is an arrest. When a person is arrested, they are read their Miranda rights, photographed, finger prints are taken, and interrogated by the police.

Preliminary Hearing Once a person is arrested, they appear before a judge, or a magistrate, who looks at the evidence and decides if the individual will be given the opportunity to post bail. Bail – an individual pays money to be able to go home until trial. Once they show up for trial, they get their money back.

Grand Jury A suspected criminal then appears before a Grand Jury (a judge) who decides if the person should be officially charged with the crime. If the person is charged with the crime, we call this step the indictment. After a person is indicted, there is a time period called the Discovery Process – during discovery, each side gets the opportunity to prepare their case and a jury is selected.

Arraignment The person charged with a crime has the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. If the defendant pleads guilty, they can accept a plea bargain – they will most likely receive a lesser punishment. If the defendant pleads not guilty, a trial must be held to determine guilt or innocence.

Trial The trial begins with opening statements from both sides (Prosecution and Defense) Following opening statements, the Prosecution gets their turn to interview witnesses and present evidence to the jury to try and prove that the defendant committed the crime. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime. (The burden of proof is on the prosecution.)

Trial Cont’d Once the Prosecution has presented their case, the Defense gets an opportunity to respond. Once both sides have finished presenting their arguments, they summarize their case with closing arguments.

Jury Deliberation After both sides have been presented in a case, the case is turned over to the jury for deliberation. The jurors must decide if an individual is guilty or innocent. If a juror is not 95% sure that an individual committed the crime they have been charged with, they must say “not guilty”. In order for an individual to be found guilty, the jurors must reach a unanimous agreement. If they cannot reach a unanimous agreement, it is called a hung jury and results in a mistrial.

Court’s Decision Options: Acquittal – defendant is found not guilty and is set free. Conviction – defendant is found guilty and will be sentenced by the court. Mistral – if the jury cannot reach a decision, the judge declares a mistrial. - if a mistrial happens, the entire process must begin again.