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What Are the 5 Steps in a Criminal Case?
Being familiar with the five basic steps in a criminal case is, well, the final step in the preparation for your potential trial. First, you need to know what the basic types of crimes are. Then, you have to know why you should hire a criminal lawyer. Finally, you should be aware of the characteristics a good criminal lawyer should possess.
Know all that? Great! We can move on to explaining the process of a criminal case. However, we do have to mention that, even with all the explanations, it can still get complicated, and you should now shy from asking a qualified San Diego, CA criminal attorney for help.
What are the five basic steps in a criminal case?
There are, sometimes, more than 5 basic steps to a criminal trial. Don’t worry, we’ll work our way towards those as well. However, the following are the standard five steps of a California Department of Justice trial.
- Charges – This is the part when law enforcement officials make a written report that contains all the details about the crime you’ve allegedly done. The report usually consists of :
- General information on the case
- Details about the crime you’ve allegedly committed
- Statements given by corroborating witnesses
- Arraignment – Once the charges have been determined, the accused individual has to face some sort of court in order to hear the charges being made against them. It is during arraignment that the defendant pleads guilty or not guilty and that bail is set for more serious crimes.
- Pretrial proceedings – This is the period of time when the prosecutor and the defendant exchange all the information about the facts of the case and the alleged charges. The defendant has to know all the facts of the case in order to be able to come up with a defense strategy. Also, this is the time for potential plea bargains.
- Trial – If there was no plea bargain, the case has to go to trial. First, the jury has to be selected. Then, the prosecution and the defense provide brief overviews of the case before presenting evidence and witnesses. Then, it’s time for the jury to deliberate the verdict.
- Verdict and sentencing – Finally, it’s time for the jury to reach its verdict and for the judge to determine the sentence of the defendant if found guilty. In case the defendant is found innocent of the alleged crime, it is time to walk out of the courtroom as a free man.
Are there additional steps in a criminal case?
Although the aforementioned are the most common steps in all criminal cases, there are some potential, additional steps that may or may not occur during the process of a criminal case. Let’s see what these are:
- Arrest – Now, some criminal offenses are severe enough that they require the defendant to be arrested by the police. On other occasions, the court issues an arrest warrant which makes the defendant appear in front of the court of law.
- Booking – The pear of being arrested is booking. This is when the police take all of your possessions, add your fingerprints to the system, and take your mugshot.
- Appeal – Following the court proceedings, and an unfavorable sentence, the defendant holds the right to appeal the sentence. This is when the court of a higher jurisdiction reviews the case and. The appellate court can order a new trial, or it can order for the defendant’s immediate release.
“Which experienced San Diego, CA, criminal attorney should represent my case in court?”
Securing the best possible legal representation in San Diego has never been easier, because now you have Monder Criminal Lawyer Group – the superstar team of criminal attorneys dedicated to securing a “not guilty”.
Although you cannot proceed to our offices after your visit to Old Town San Diego, you can still give us a call and see how we can arrange legal representation for your case. Don’t waste any time, give us a call now!
