No one ever looks forward to an arrest, but if it happens, one goes through some legal procedures before he or she is declared guilty or innocent. A person who is accused of a crime is referred to as a defendant. When the police officer arrests the defendant, they take away their fundamental right to freedom (Snape, 2015). For instance, a police officer sees a suspicious male loitering in front of a newly opened store. Further observation by the police officer shows the young man seems to be very nervous. The officer decides to approach him and restricts his movement. After a pat-down search, the officer finds some weapons and some illegal drugs. In this case, the young male is the defendant. The journey to justice begins at the arrest stage. A police officer starts by informing the accused party or defendant that he is under arrest. The arresting officer reads the defendant his rights and then proceeded to a pat-down search for weapons. The defendant is then taken to the police station where personal property is confiscated and held in inventory that is signed by the booking officer and the defendant. Fingerprints and a photograph are taken for his identification (Ferdico et al., 2016).
A defendant is later taken to court not more than 48-72 hours after the arrest. The defendant is arraigned in court making their 1st appearance where charges are read for the first time. The defendant is not required to make a plea at this stage. Bail may be set if the defendant meets the requirements. If it is not set or the defendant is unable to meet the conditions, the process moves to the Preliminary stage. The prosecution presents some of the initial evidence to a judge during the preliminary hearing. The defense attorney responds to counter the presented evidence. The sitting judge then decides whether there is probable cause to hold the defendant. If he finds there is none, the case is dismissed, and the defendant is released from custody. If there is probable cause, the case moves to the Grand Jury (Calvi & Coleman, 2016).
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The Grand Jury consists of 16-23 individuals who listen to the evidence from the prosecutors and then file charges against the defendant. After the Grand Jury stage, one moves to the Arraignment stage. At this stage, like in the first appearance, the judge reads the charges again to the defendant, but the defendant is now required to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Pretrial motions and hearings follow the arraignment. Here the evidence is challenged. A special request for accommodation is often put forward at this stage to allow facilitation of unique circumstances which is later followed closely by Pretrial Conference and Trial calendar calls. Here the sitting judge sets the procedure for the state and defense to meet and negotiate on the details of a plea. Addressing any other unresolved issues takes place at this stage (Siegel & Worrall, 2017).
The final stage is the actual Trial. This involves a thorough review and examination of all the evidence presented. The court of law and the Jury decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The end of the process is sentencing or release of the defendant. This is dependent on the judgment passed by the Judge hearing the case (Peršak, 2016).
References
Calvi, J. V., & Coleman, S. E. (2016). American law and legal systems . London; New York: Routledge.
Ferdico, J. N., Fradella, H. F., & Totten, C. D. (2016). Criminal procedure for the criminal justice professional . Boston, MA: Cengage Learning Press.
Peršak, N. (2016). Legitimacy and trust in criminal law, policy, and justice: Norms, procedures, outcomes . London: Routledge.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2017). Essentials of criminal justice . Australia; Boston, MA, Cengage Learning Press.
Snape, J. O. (2015). New York State Criminal Procedure and Penal Code 2016 . S.L.: Lulu Com.
