Criminal or Penal law covers the rules and decrees written by the congressmen and legislators of the state with regards to felonies that causes damage to the ordinary citizens. According to the constitution, the defendant has a right to a speedy trial. The definition of the word ?speedy,? though, and the advantages of insisting a speedy trial, shows a discrepancy from state to state. Within some states, nearly every defendant, in order to gain ample time to set up their defenses, have to relinquish their right to a speedy trial.
A defendant can never allege later that he lacked the time to arrange for his defense if a defendant claims a speedy trial. If a speedy trial was demanded by a defendant and the prosecutor isnt ready to go on with the trial, the allegations against the defendant may be dropped. The difference between a bench trial and a jury trial is that a jury trial is when the judge settles the law even as the jury settles the facts. On the other hand, a bench trial is when the judge settles both the facts and the law. The defendant and the prosecutor can request a jury trial even if prosecutors favor bench trials.
When a case is arranged for jury trial, the parties go through the selection of the jury. During which, a team of jurors is interviewed by the lawyers, by the judge, or both, in what is termed as ?voir dire,? literally ?to speak the truth.? The point of this hearing is to decide whether these jurors will be just and unbiased, whether they will come to a decision regarding the case based on the evidence introduced in court. Both prosecutors and defendants can confront the jurors if they suspect they are unfair in opposition to their side. The judge will decide if there is a reasonable ground to remove a specific juror from hearing a case. Both defendants and prosecutor can also remove a limited number of jurors without any grounds or clarification.
At the onset of the trial, the jury is instructed that the defendant is given the presumption of innocence until he is proven guilty. So jurors should not ditch this presumption and think that the defendant is guilty before each and every evidence regarding the case is heard.
Criminal law is usually put into effect by the government. Through the District Attorney, the state begins the court proceedings.
Criminal laws are also called penal laws. Criminal law is the body of statutory and common law dealing with crime and the legal punishment of legal offenses based on the four theories of criminal justice system, namely, punishment, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. All this imposition of sanctions about the crime is to achieve justice and a peaceable social order.
The objective of criminal law is to exert social control. It aims at discouraging behavior that is detrimental to the well being of the society as well as behavior that challenge the government's authority and legitimacy.
The criminal charges are filed and the criminal proceedings take place in a series of stages. It is the police who respond and take action to any citizen's complaint lodged. The police may also feel suspicious and in such case they investigate, take down statements from various important witnesses and based on the findings make ready a report. They can arrest people during the course of the investigation. They may alternatively (as is usually the case) complete the report and submit it to the prosecutor's office for evaluation. It will be the prosecutor who will be deciding whether or not criminal charges will be filed against any suspect named in the police report. The procedures for filing charges, however, vary among jurisdictions.
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