1. The Criminal Justice Process
Judicial Branch
The Criminal Justice Process

2. SSCG14c: Analyze the Procedures in the Criminal Justice Process.
Judicial Branch
SSCG14c: Analyze the Procedures in the Criminal Justice Process. 

3. Criminal Justice Procedures
The major steps :
Investigation 
Arrest 
Prosecution
Indictment 
Pretrial detention and/or bail.
Plea bargaining 
Trial/adjudication of guilt 
Sentencing 
Appeals 
Punishment and/or rehabilitation

4. Criminal Justice Procedures
1. Investigation of a crime by the police.
Gather evidence to identify a suspect and support an arrest.
May require a search, or exploratory inspection of a person or property. 
Probable cause is the standard of proof required for a search.
Probable cause means there are facts or apparent facts indicating that evidence of criminality can be found in a specific place.

5. Criminal Justice Procedures
2. Arrest of a suspect by the police.
involves taking a person into custody for the purpose of holding the suspect until court. 
Probable cause is the legal requirement for an arrest.
There must be a reasonable link between a specific person and a particular crime.

6. Criminal Justice Procedures
3. Prosecution of criminal defendant
By a district attorney.
When deciding whether to charge a person with a crime, prosecutors weigh many factors, including:
seriousness of the offense and
strength of the evidence.

7. Criminal Justice Procedures
4. Indictment by a grand jury or the filing of an information by a prosecutor.
An indictment is required for a capital offense.
Option of an indictment or an information in cases punishable by imprisonment.
In some states / federal system, a grand jury decides to bring charges against a person in a closed hearing
Only the prosecutor presents evidence.
The defendant has no right to be present at grand jury proceedings and no right to have a defense attorney represent him or her before the grand jury.

8. Criminal Justice Procedures
Probable Cause
Standard for indicting a person for a crime in states where indictment is standard.
In remaining states, prosecutor files a charging document called:
an Information:
A preliminary (probable cause) hearing is held to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial.
The defendant and his or her attorney can be present at this hearing to dispute the charges.

9. Criminal Justice Procedures
Arraignment:
by a judge. Before the trial
The defendant appears in court and enters a plea.
The most common pleas are guilty and not guilty.

10. Criminal Justice Procedures
5. Pretrial Detention and/or Bail.
Detention refers to a period of temporary custody prior to trial.
Bail is an amount of money paid by a defendant to ensure he or she will show up for a trial.
If he shows up for the trial, he gets the money back.
Bail Bonding companies often assist those that cannot afford to post bail themselves.

11. Criminal Justice Procedures
6. Plea bargaining:
Between the defense attorney and the prosecutor.
Usually, in plea bargaining, the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a charge reduction or sentence reduction.

12. Criminal Justice Procedures
Trial/adjudication of guilt:
A trial is held before a judge or jury, with a prosecutor and a defense attorney participating.
The standard of evidence for a criminal conviction is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
less than 100 percent certainty but more than high probability.
If there is doubt based on reason, the accused is entitled to be acquitted.

13. Criminal Justice Procedures
8. Sentencing by a judge:
If the accused is found guilty, a judge announces a sentence.
Possible sentences include
A fine
Probation
Incarceration in a correctional institution, such as a jail or prison
Some combination of supervision in the community and incarceration.
Death

14. Criminal Justice Procedures
9. Appeals 
filed by attorneys in appellate courts and then ruled on by appellate judges.
If an appellate court reverses a case, the case returns to trial court for retrial.
With a reversal, the original trial becomes moot (that is, it is as though it never happened).

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9. Appeals 
Following a reversal, a prosecutor decides whether to refile or drop the charges.
Even if a prosecutor drops the charges, the defendant can still be prosecuted later as long as the statute of limitations for the crime the defendant is accused of committing hasn't run out.
Such a statute imposes time limits on the government to try a case.

16. Criminal Justice Procedures
10. Punishment and/or rehabilitation 
Administered by local, state, or federal correctional authorities.
Most inmates do not serve the complete term and are released before the expiration of their maximum sentences.
Release may be obtained by serving the maximum sentence mandated by a court or through an early release mechanism, such as parole or pardon.

17. Criminal Justice Procedures
The criminal justice process is like a funnel, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
Early in the criminal justice process, there are many cases, but the number of cases dwindles as decision makers remove cases from the process.
Some cases are dismissed, while others are referred for treatment or counseling.
Another way of expressing the funnel effect is to say that there are many more suspects and defendants than inmates.

18. Criminal Justice Procedures
As criminal justice scholar Joel Samaha notes, the U.S. Constitution requires the government to support every deprivation of privacy, life, liberty, or property with facts.
The greater the deprivation, the more facts that government agents are required to produce.
A stop on the street requires fewer facts than an arrest;
an arrest requires fewer facts than an indictment;
an indictment requires fewer facts than a criminal conviction.