What
is a Criminal Court Case?
In the case of a serious
criminal offence, the suspected offender is arrested and
taken by the police to a police station. The charge is
explained and the formal written charge is made. Generally
the arrested person is released on bail, which is an
agreement (with a monetary guarantee) to attend court on a
specified day. For the most serious offences, like murder,
the arrested person is kept in custody.
For less serious
offences, action is started by a summons rather than an
arrest. The suspected offender receives a document
requiring their attendance at court on a specified day.
On the day that the
charged person attends before the court, they are required
to plead guilty or not guilty. If the person needs legal
help before being able to plead, the case will be
adjourned to another date. If the charged person pleads
guilty, the court will deal with the matter and if the
plea is not guilty, the matter is adjourned to a trial
date and preparations begin for the conduct of the trial.
Criminal
prosecutions are brought in the name of the State
because the accused person is charged with having
committed a crime against the peace and dignity of
the entire community. The person accused of having
committed the crime is called the defendant.
The action against the accused is brought by an
indictment, a criminal information, or a
complaint. An indictment is a formal charge
brought by a Grand Jury after hearing only the
State's side of the case. A criminal information
is similar to an indictment, except that it is
brought by the Attorney General rather than by a
Grand Jury. A complaint is used in less serious
criminal cases and is initiated either by a police
department or by the Attorney General.
The defendant may admit to the charge by entering
a plea of "guilty" or "nolo
contendere" (no contest), which has the same
effect as a plea of guilty. In either case there
is no trial and the judge may impose a sentence.
The defendant may deny the charge by entering a
plea of "not guilty."
When a plea of "not guilty" is entered,
the defendant is entitled to a trial by jury of
twelve people under the Rhode Island Constitution.
The function of the jury is to determine whether
the state has introduced sufficient evidence to
prove the defendant guilty. Evidence in support of
the charge is introduced by the prosecutor, who is
usually an Assistant or Special Assistant Attorney
General. The defendant is ordinarily represented
by a lawyer. If the defendant is financially
unable to provide his or her own, the defendant
will be represented by a member of the Public
Defender's Office or by a court appointed
attorney.
The criminal trial proceeds as follows:
The prosecutor makes an opening statement
outlining to the jury the evidence which he or she
expects to introduce to prove the state's case.
The prosecuting attorney then calls witnesses, one
by one, in support of the charge. After a direct
examination of each witness is completed, the
defense lawyer has a right to cross-examine the
witness. The cross-examination may be followed by
a redirect examination by the prosecutor. When the
State has introduced all of its evidence, the
prosecutor announces that "the State
rests."
Then, the defendant may, if he or she wishes,
introduce evidence. However, the defendant is not
required to do so and may decide to merely say
"the defense rests." If the defendant
does decide to testify or to present any
witnesses, the prosecutor may cross-examine each
person, and the defense attorney may follow that
with redirect examination.
After the defense has rested its case, the State
may introduce evidence in rebuttal explaining or
contradicting evidence brought out by the defense.
When both sides have completed their presentation
of evidence, the defense lawyer delivers a final
argument or summation to the jury. The prosecutor
follows with his or her summation. The judge then
charges the jury, by explaining the law which the
jurors are to apply to the facts of the case.
Before the jury deliberates there is usually
another step required to eliminate all members of
the jury in excess of twelve. Following the
judge's charge to the jury, the clerk will put all
the jurors' cards into the barrel and will draw
out the first twelve cards. These twelve
individuals will constitute the jury, and one of
them will be named by the judge as the foreperson.
Following this, the jury retires to deliberate its
verdict. The deliberations are carried out in the
jury room without any intrusion from exterior
sources. The verdict is to be based solely on the
evidence presented in open court and on the law
given by the court.
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