Five Stages Or Process Of American Criminal Justice

BCJ100 – Introduction to Criminal Justice
Unit # 1 Question #1. As explained in the textbook, list and discuss the five stages or process of American Criminal Justice. The intent of America’s Criminal Justice is to establish and maintain law and order while supporting the ideals of freedom for all citizens. Based on the Constitution of the United States, some laws are enacted to protect the innocent, but many are also written to protect the accused, the guilty, and the convicted. Specifically, the Fourteenth Amendment declares that citizens, have a right to life, liberty, and property, and when accused of a crime, have a right to “due process” and “equal protection”. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment to the Bill of Rights also
Individual state laws mandate how soon after booking an arrestee must be seen for his or her initial appearance. At this step, a public defender will be assigned to the case if the defendant cannot his or her own attorney. After explaining the charges and other applicable rights to the defendant, the judge may set a bail based on the severity of the charges as per the Eighth Amendment that says that the court cannot set excessive bails. However, bail can also be denied based on the nature of the charges, and if the judge has reason to believe the defendant may be a flight
Other pretrial activities may include a preliminary hearing, and information or indictment process (formal accusation), and an arraignment. The preliminary hearing is to decide whether the evidence presented substantiates the charges. Two key points that must be validated at this time by “probable cause” is that a crime was committed and that the defendant committed the crime. The information or indictment process is governed by individual state law and involves presenting the formal charge, or charges, against a defendant in written form to a judge for approval. During the arraignment process, the defendant hears the formal accusation against him or her and is given the opportunity to plead “guilty”, “not guilty”, or “no contest”. Sometimes, a defendant chooses to “stand mute”, in which case the judge will enter a “not guilty” plea on the defendant’s behalf. Per the Sixth Amendment, the defendant has the right to a trial judged by a jury of his or her peers. If the case against a defendant goes to trial, the prosecution team representing the victim(s) or other entity, and the defense teams representing the defendant, have the opportunity to state their case and present evidence and or witness