The Court Process: How It Works

Several steps are involved in the court process. The main steps are as follows: investigation, committal, case conference, trial, plea hearing, sentence, and appeal. 

Investigation 

In most jurisdictions in the US, the police are mandated with the investigation of a case before it is presented to the court. The police usually contact the victims and other witnesses to gather valuable information so as to present a strong case in the courtroom ("Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court", 2020). The police can arrest the alleged offender if there is a reasonable cause to believe that a crime was committed by the offender. The offender can either be bailed or remanded in custody awaiting trial. No charges will be laid against an offender if the police fail to collect sufficient evidence needed to prosecute an alleged offender. 

Committal Proceedings 

The second step in the court process is the committal stage. In the magistrate’s court, committal proceedings happen before a magistrate. The Magistrate is mandated with judging the case to see if there is enough evidence to send the case to the higher court for trial. Following an alleged offender’s arrest, the person appears in court for mention of the case. During this stage, an alleged offender can discuss bail terms and the date and time is also set for declaration hearing. During the declaration hearing, the prosecution presents all the evidence against the offender and files all the witness statements before the court (Holmes, 2020). The Magistrate, upon hearing the prosecution’s case, sets the case for an answer charge date. The next step is the answering the charges stage whereby the defendant’s lawyer will be invited to enter the guilty or not guilty plea. If the accused enters a not guilty plea but the Magistrate finds out that the evidence presented are sufficient, the magistrate commits the case for trial either in District or Supreme Court. 

Case Conferences 

A case conference is a meeting that happens between different parties involved in the case proceeding, including the prosecution team and the defendant’s team and the judge. Case conferences are mainly held for the purpose of administration as well as the settlement of the case before the court. Case conferences are held in various stages of the court process. Family case conferences take place in the Provincial Court while the judicial case conferences take place in the Supreme Court early in the court proceeding to settle some of the issues that can be solved before the case advances to the next level and planning other crucial issues pertaining to the case and the parties. For instance, issues such as care and support for the children of the accused happen during the initial case conference. Also, initial case conference helps the parties to prepare for the trial stage of the case. However, the Provincial Court’s trial preparation case conference as well as the Supreme Court’s trial management conferences is held during the latter stages of the proceedings (Langbein, 2012). Although the Supreme Court’s settlement conferences are not essential or mandatory, they are usually held anytime as long as both parties agree to do hold the conference to discuss important issues. 

The Trial and Plea Hearing Stage 

All the admissible evidence are put before the court during the trial stage. During the trial stage, the jury plays an important role as they are supposed to examine the evidence presented by the prosecution and determine if the evidence is sufficient beyond any reasonable doubt to prove the guilt of the alleged offender. If the jury or the judge finds out that the evidence presented does not prove the alleged offender as guilty of the crime committed, the accused will be set free during the trial stage of the court process. The prosecution and the defense witnesses are welcomed to present oral submissions o the court. The prosecution and the defense lawyers can ask the witnesses all the relevant questions regarding the case at this stage. Any evidence of prejudicial error will result in the mistrial of the case, which is the termination of the case before its natural conclusion. Under such circumstances, a jury will be empanelled and the trial of the case will start afresh. 

Sentence 

The judge sentences an alleged offender if the offender pleads guilty or is found guilty by the judge during the trial stage. Sentencing of the offender often takes place in two stages with the first one being sentencing submission and the other being sentencing. During the sentencing submission stage, the defense as well as the prosecution lawyers provides valuable statements that will help the judge make a proper sentencing of the offender. During this stage, the prosecution as well as the defense lawyers can address issues such as the accused person’s previous offenses, suitable penalties, the offender’s mental health condition, victim impact statement, and the defendant’s background information among other relevant information. The judge sets a sentencing date once the sentencing submissions are complete. During the sentence stage, the judge must decide if the accused should receive a suspended sentence or a custodial sentence. Offenders who receive suspended sentences can either be released with specific conditions or unconditionally. 

Appeal 

An alleged offender who receives a guilty verdict during the trial stage is referred to as a defendant. The US Constitution protects the accused person’s right to appeal against their conviction. Nevertheless, an appeal is not always automatic as the defendant must prove that there sufficient reasons to appeal against their sentencing. A defendant must first obtain the permission to appeal against their sentencing before proceeding with their appeal procedures. The appeal can either be approved or denied depending on the magnitude of the defendant’s appeal argument. 

Role of Different Participants in the Court Process 

Based on the explanation of the above court process, it is evident that different people play various important roles throughout the court process. A diverse group of people must work together to ensure a smooth flow of the court processes right from the investigation of the alleged offense to the sentencing of the offender. Some of the most important participants in the court process include the judge, the police, witnesses, the prosecution team, and the defense team. While some, such as the judges and defense attorneys are professionals, others like the witnesses might not necessarily be professionals. Different people have their special places within the courtroom when the proceedings take place. The following is a summary of the main roles played by different participants during the court process. 

The Parties 

The parties involve the complainant and the accused. The parties can either appear in person or send their lawyers to represent them. However, defendants in criminal cases are constitutionally allowed to be present during a court proceeding. Nevertheless, parties can opt to appear or not during the prosecution of a civil case. 

The Judge 

The judge is the most significant person throughout the court process. The judge presides over the case brought before the court and they are responsible for directing the proceedings during a court hearing. The first role of the judge in the courtroom is to ensuring that there is order as the court proceedings take place ("Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court", 2020) . Secondly, the judge makes the decision as to whether the evidence presented by the parties is admissible or not. Illegal evidence is not allowed in the court of law and it is the responsibility of the judge to determine the legality of any evidence presented before the court. The third role of the judge, before the deliberation of the jury about a case, is to provide the jury with relevant instructions about the law that related to the case as well as the standards that the jury must apply to determine the case. The judge also determines the facts applying to the case before deciding the case. Finally, the most important role of the judge in the court is to make the verdict about a case presented before the court. 

The Lawyers/Attorneys 

The attorneys or lawyers are the most conspicuous participants during the proceedings of a court case. The lawyers represent both parties, the defense and the prosecution, and they often speak to the judge, the jury, or the witnesses to find out finer details of the case presented before the court ("Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court", 2020) . The task of every attorney is to use the acceptable legal procedures to bring out all the facts about the case in order to defend their clients. In criminal cases, there must a lawyer that works on behalf of the government to represent the interests of the society. The US Attorney or assistant attorney represents the interests of the society under the federal criminal cases. Defendants can as well represent themselves, without any lawyer or an attorney, although that happens on rare occasions in criminal cases. 

The Witnesses 

Witnesses are usually summoned to provide valuable information that will help the defense and prosecution attorneys to present a strong case in defense of their clients. Witnesses are required to give facts about what they about the case that is disputed in the court. In most cases, witnesses are referred to as plaintiff witnesses, defense witnesses, or government witnesses since each witness testify on behalf of a specific party. 

The Court Reporter 

Everything that is said in the court must be written down for the sake of record-keeping. The court reporter is responsible for writing the official court record in every case during a court proceeding. According to the federal law, a word-for-word record of the court proceedings must be recorded and it is the responsibility of the court reporter to record everything. If either party appeals the case, the court reporter provides them with the written transcript of their concluded cases. 

Interpreters 

With an increasing immigration of people from non-English speaking countries, court interpreters possess high language skills and they ensure than people presenting with language barrier receive a fair treatment during the prosecution of their case ( Berk-Seligson, 2017).  

The Courtroom Deputy 

The courtroom deputy assists the judge with various activities. For instance, they can administer oaths to witnesses before they testify in the courtroom and help the judges to run the trial in a smooth manner ("Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court", 2020) . Courtroom deputies also manage the judge’s caseload. Besides, other important roles of courtroom deputies include administrative tasks, electronic court recording, scheduling interpreters and court reporters, and answering questions from the public. 

Conclusion 

Several parties take part in the court process. Each party has a specific role to play throughout the important stages of the court process. Nevertheless, the judge is the principal moderator of the court process as they decide if the evidence presented before the court is admissible and they also maintain order throughout the court proceedings. Therefore, one must have an understanding of the roles of every party to understand the entire court process. 

References 

Berk-Seligson, S. (2017).  The bilingual courtroom: Court interpreters in the judicial process . University of Chicago Press. doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226923277.001.0001 

Holmes, L. M. (2020). The American Judicial Process and Why It Matters. In  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics . doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1776 

Langbein, J. H. (2012). The disappearance of civil trial in the United States.  Yale lJ ,  122 , 522. 

Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court. (2020). Retrieved 18 September 2020, from http://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/role-judge-and-other-courtroom-participants 

Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants | Northern District of Florida | United States District Court. (2020, September 18). http://www.flnd.uscourts.gov/role-judge-and-other-courtroom-participants