The Criminal Court Process

The criminal court process is complicated. From the initial arrest to the final sentencing, a defendant's case passes through numerous stages. American law believes that numerous and sometimes redundant steps in the criminal court process are the best way to ensure that the individuals rights are protected. Analytically, the criminal court trial process can be broken down into twelve stages: arrest, the decision to prosecute, initial appearance, the setting of bail, holding a preliminary hearing, selecting a defense attorney, convening the grand jury, holding the arraignment, deciding pretrial motions, engaging in plea negotiations, conducting a trial and imposing sentence.

The twelve steps provide only a basic overview however. Criminal procedure varies from state to state. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that certain steps are so vital--jury selection, for example--that they are required in all states, and for the federal government as well. Other procedures, however, mostly notably the grand jury, have been held by the court to be less essential to the concept of "ordered liberty", and therefore states are not required to have then (Neubauer, 1995, p.31).

The twelve steps do not have to occur in a set order. For instance, a defendant may have an attorney even before arrest or may delay hiring one until the day of trial. Just as importantly, these twelve steps are interrelated. The decision to change the outcome of the preliminary hearing and the nature of the plea bargain all anticipate a jury verdict (Neubauer, 1995, p. 32).

The Criminal Court System and The Adjudicative Ideal