1. Criminal Law Investigations

2. Jurisdiction Lawful right of the branches of gov’t to exercise official authority

3. Criminal Process IncidentInvestigationArrest Preliminary arraignment Preliminary hearing

4. Formal arraignment Formal hearing TrialAppeal

5. Incident Something happens and police are brought in

6. Investigation Police gather and examine all evidence Goal is to see if a crime is committed and who committed it Could take seconds or could take years

7. Arrest Person is taken into custody against his will by the law

8. Preliminary Arraignment Within 48 hours (6 hours in PA) suspect is taken before the district judge Suspect is told of the charges against them Bail is set Date is set for preliminary hearing

9. Preliminary Hearing Within 3-10 days (10 in PA) Suspect goes before judge again Judge decides if there is probable cause that a crime was committed Person is then freed or trial is set

10. Trial date could be set Bail could be continued Suspect could be remanded to county jail until trial

11. Formal Arraignment Plea is taken from the accused (guilty or innocent) Most often the accused pleads not guilty

12. Formal hearing Within 30 days of the formal arraignment Pre-trial motions are filed Ex: exclusion of evidence, change of venue, etc

13. Trial Must begin within 180 days if accused is in jail awaiting trial Must begin within 365 days if accused is out on bail Court could order a continuance to extend these time limits (delay)

14. Accused will be found guilty or innocent by a jury or the judge After the trial, the judge will announce the sentence for the accused if found guilty

15. Appeal Defendant may appeal to a higher court if they are found guilty Can only appeal if trying to prove that an error was made during the trial that prejudiced the court or verdict was contrary to the evidence