If a plea bargain is reached before the trial, often the trial will not continue. The suspect will be sentenced and then continue to incarceration. Plea-bargaining is a legal tool, which keep the courts from becoming too clogged (Champion 208). This ends the Pre-Trial phase of the criminal court system.
Next in the process is the trial itself. Most people who enjoy courtroom dramas will recognize this phase of the process. Many trials are pleaded out, which means the main characters in the process are the prosecutor, the defense counsel, and the judge. When a case does go to trial, juries are selected, and are generally composed of 6 or 12 peers, chosen with equal input and approval by both the prosecutor and the defense (Samaha 329). The prosecutor, usually working for the county or state, offers their evidence against the suspect, while the defense counsel presents evidence meant to clear his client of wrongdoing. The judge (and jury) attempt to decide which side is telling the truth, and how to punish the suspect. One important aspect of the trial is that the defendant is always presumed innocent until proven guilty (Samaha 334). The trial moves through several phases.
The trial begins with opening statements from both attorneys. They then offer the main facts to the jury, giving them evidence and attempting to sway them to their side. After all the evidence is presented, they make their closing arguments. Usually, the state presents its closing argument last. If there is a jury, the trial then goes to the jury to decide, after the judge gives them his instructions (Samaha 338). If there is no jury, the judge decides whether the suspect is guilty or innocent, and what price they will pay for their crime. There are many alternatives to sentencing. There is also community service, suspended sentences, and sometimes the suspect is committed to a mental or addiction institution for treatment. Sentencing and serving the sentence is the "Post-Trial" part of the process (Samaha 363). After sentencing, the criminal goes to jail, serves time, and is released on parole, or, for lesser crimes might do community service, ending the process (Samaha 363).
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