Criminal Justice Process Analysis

The next step in the criminal justice process that the defendant would experience is grand jury indictment or a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause. Prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury without the

The court is the second component of the justice system – once the suspect is arrested, s/he is referred to as a defendant. It is now up to the court to decide if the police had enough evidence for probable cause for arrest – if the determination is positive, then the defendant gets an opportunity to plead innocent or guilty. Once the court establishes that the defendant is innocent, s/he is released; on the other hand if the defendant is found guilty the court decides the type of punishment and then the defendant is turned over to the Corrections for the follow up of the punishment.

More than 90 percent of criminal convictions come from negotiated pleas, also known as, plea bargaining. Plea bargains are used every day at both the federal and state court level. They certainly have their “proponents” as well as their “opponents”. A plea bargain basically is any agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor. That agreement is usually in the form of a defendant pleading guilty to a “lesser” crime with a reduced sentence in return for the prosecuting authority not having to expend the time, energy, expense and manpower in seeking a conviction in a trial of a more serious charge. An evaluation of the evidence against the defendant is usually a significant factor by the prosecutor in determining whether or not a plea bargain should be offered. If the prosecutor’s case is strong, the chances of a plea bargain being offered to the defendant are lessened. While at the same time, if the prosecutor feels that his evidence is on the weaker side, the probability of a plea bargain being offered is enhanced.

The plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal, copping a plea, or plea in mitigation) is any agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor. This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence

The first step in the process is the investigation. Once an offender initially commits a crime and officers are contacted and make an arrest, they have to investigate further into the crime at hand. Evidence is then gathered and follow up investigations attempt to put the pieces on chronological order to show what happened before and during the time of the crime. There are also many efforts to identify some possible suspects to further the next step of the criminal justice process.

Plea-bargaining has become crucial for courts and the justice system to effectively manage their caseloads. A defendant typically agrees to plead guilty to one or more charges well before a trial is slated to begin. The charge or charges the defendant often agrees to plead guilty to tends to come with a much lesser charged than what they were initially set to go to trial for. Plea-bargaining often allows for a quick resolution of cases where the evidence of guilt is overwhelming or where there is little disagreement.

During the trial, all evidence from both the prosecution and the defense is brought forward, and witnesses are brought in to testify in front of the judge or jury. This is when the prosecuting attorney pleads his case of guilt and the defense attorney casts doubt on the prosecution’s case, while proving the innocence of their client. Each trial has a set routine that it mostly adheres to. It starts with each attorney giving their opening statements, moving on to the presenting their cases while

In a plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to one or more charges. Which is an often to a lesser charge than one for which the defendant could stand trial. Then also, exchange

You will be told what you are being charged with and you will then give your plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. If you plead guilty, you have to explain what you did in detail and why you committed the crime. If you ever have another trial, this can be used against you at a later time. You may also be entitled to a plea bargain. A plea bargain is granted, you may get out with a lesser charge than what you were originally charged with, or a lesser punishment. If you have more than one charge and plead guilty, the prosecutor may even drop the other charges. If a plea bargain cannot be agreed upon, the defense and prosecutor will come up with an agreement together and the judge will then have to agree or disagree with what he or she thinks is best. If you plead not guilty, you will go to a criminal trial. Then you have the no contest plea, which is kind of admitting to the charge, but not taking any responsibility for the crime. An example would be getting a speeding ticket for going 55 in a 35 and pleading no contest in court and getting off with just paying a fine. If you plead no contest once in a criminal case, you cannot use it

An agreement made in a criminal case between a prosecutor and its defendant, before reaching a trial is a plea bargain. The prosecutor offers an opportunity to the defendant to plead guilty. By agreeing to plead guilty to a crime the defendant would in exchange get a prosecutor’s promise to convince the judge to reduce the sentence. It is really impossible to predict what a jury is going to decide in a trial. I personally think that plea bargaining is being used as an easy way out; instead of having the person who committed the crime pay for what they did by serving the whole time. By managing a plea bargain the terms can sometimes be used to include pondering on how it works and who it can help.

There are two types of plea bargains. One type of plea deal involves the defendant pleading guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of

The case continues with the court system, which weighs the evidence to determine if the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If deemed guilty, the accused will be sentenced and remanded to the corrections component. The corrections system will use the means at their disposal, namely incarceration and probation, to punish and correct the behavior of the offender. Bureau of Justice Statistics (2010).

There are many ways of resolving the criminal cases as defined in the current criminal justice system. One of this ways is through the use of pleas bargain. Plea bargain happens way before the trial and occurs when defendant accepts the wrong doing. He or she can plead guilty of the crimes or changes where they get to accept lenient sentence that can even lead to dismissal of charges (Lippke, 2011). This is however a private process though it is being taken over by advocacy groups.

The current judicial system allows prosecutors and the defense to plea bargain cases, which they negotiate for the person who is accused of a crime and pleads guilty. Their charges or sentence is lessened for their guilty plea even though the person is innocent.

Prosecutors may use plea bargaining as means to advance their case against a co-defendant. They may accept a plea bargain arrangement from one defendant in return for damaging testimony against another. This way, they are assured of at least one conviction even if it’s a lesser charge with the enhanced chances of captivating a conviction against the second defendant.