Criminal procedures are measures for protecting against the haphazard application of criminal laws and the wanton treatment of assumed criminal. They are architect to enforce the constitutional rights of criminal suspects and defendants, which starts from initial police contact and continuing through arrest, investigation, trial, sentencing and appeals.
Arrest
Criminal proceedings initiate with an arrest. It is an attack or detention of a person, usually by police officers, with the intent to affect an arrest. As arrested, citizen has right to make a telephone call to his belonging and the right to a lawyer. As you being arrested, you not required to hear formal charges unless and until you are being arraigned. After you being arrested you will be required to stay at jail till trail date or until you bails being proceed.
Arraignment
At this point, defendant is put into process of being charge with a crime. Judge will have certain responsibilities in this respect as read defendant criminal charges, inform defendant on attorney right, ask defendant to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges, have opportunity to amend the bail amount and set dates for future legal proceedings.
Preliminary Hearing
At this stage, if there is sufficient evidence against the defendant and proves that there is a legitimate case to pursue, then preliminary hearing is conducted for the prosecution to meet its burden of persuasion. During this stage, defendant is allowed to cross-check witnesses. A judge will then evaluate and judge that prosecution has met its burden of persuasion and sometimes grand jury is also used in this respect.
Pre-Trial Hearing
At this stage, motion is filled by the prosecution and defense before a judge. Motions are a way to both sides to have judge involved making decisions about contested matters, like evidence that should be suppressed, whether there is reason for a witness to be testifying and charge to be dropped for lack of evidence.
Trial
At trial, both prosecution and defendant met together and prosecution start by presenting general overview of the case. Prosecution provides reasons of defendant guiltiness and defendant on action provide a general statement of his innocence. Both parties cross- examine on each other point and judge will after both of them final words returns a verdict.
Sentencing
If defendant is found to be guilty his sentence will usually be determined right away like, incarceration, fines, restitution, community service and rehab.
Acts of Parliament
There are some contentions applicable to the context of the constitution of the United Kingdom (UK); the result of the UK constitution not being created of in writing or codified rules, the doctrine of rule of law as put ahead by Professor Albert Venn Dicey in 'The Law of the Constitution' 1 and the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty and the consequences of the new Labour government's support of devolution, connecting of the European Union (EU) and suggested restructure of the House of Lords thereon.
The Ireland Act 1949, s.1(2), states that 'It is hereby declared that Northern Ireland continues part of…the United Kingdom ...