CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Criminal Justice System

Criminal Justice System

Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is society's response to violations of the criminal law. The criminal justice system is the total of all operations. There are three basic operational areas to the criminal justice system in the United States: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Thus, in court a defendant is represented by counsel while the State is represented by a prosecutor, and the victim is merely a witness for the State (Attorney General Guidelines for the Victim and Witness Assistance, 2000). Victims are involved throughout the trial process, and many criminal justice agencies lend assistance and support (victim rights advocates, victims of crime support funds etc.). A suspect is brought into the criminal justice system through the actions of law enforcement personnel. Police learn of criminal activity from victim reports, citizen reports, discovery by an officer in the field, from informants, or from investigation and intelligence work. After a crime is identified and a suspect identified, if possible, the suspect is apprehended and placed under arrest. Once he is arrested, constitutional due process protections begin for the suspect, providing a variety of important rights including the right to remain silent.

Prosecutor

In the criminal law, to prosecute is to start and complete a criminal action against a person alleged to have committed a criminal offense. The lawyer employed by the state, called a prosecutor, seeks to obtain a conviction in a court against the defendant. Federal, state, county and city governments employ prosecutors, which can be called U.S. attorneys, district attorneys, county attorneys and city attorneys. Each prosecutor has statutory authority to prosecute only certain levels or crime. These officers of the court are the only individuals who may prosecute crimes. Citizens may file complaints with the police but have not authority to compel a prosecutor to file charges or to bring charges them (Facing Criminal Prosecution, 2011).

At this stage, the prosecutor presents the case to a grand jury made up of regular citizens who hear cases presented by law enforcement personnel through the prosecutor and decide if there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed the crime charged.

Criminal or Defendant

Once indicted, the defendant again appears before a judge for an arraignment. Here, he is informed of the nature of the indictment and asked to enter a plea. If the plea is not guilty, the matter is set for trial within speedy trial guidelines. At this point the defendant, through his attorney, begins negotiations with the prosecutor to reach a plea bargain and avoid the consequences and costs of trial. If a plea is reached, it is presented to the judge. The judge can accept or reject the plea. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the case goes to trial.

A defendant has the right to trial before a jury of his peers or can elect a bench trial where the judge serves as the finder of fact. The prosecutor bears the burden of proving the case, beyond a reasonable doubt, and ...