Criminal procedure generally refers to the observance of the rights of individuals during criminal proceedings. Examples of procedural issues include the rights of individuals during police investigation, arrest, indictment, trial and appeal. Criminal procedure refers to the set of rules governing the series of procedures by which the government applies substantive criminal law. Municipalities, states, and the federal government have their own penal codes, which define the types of conduct that constitute crimes.
Federal crimes generally relate to activities that extend beyond state boundaries or that directly affect federal interests. Federal rules for criminal cases can be found in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which govern all aspects of criminal trials. Each state has its own similar rules. This book focuses on substantive criminal law, but occasionally touches on criminal procedure issues, so it's important to differentiate between the two.
While criminal law focuses on the community, criminal procedure focuses on government. Being arrested can be a terrifying experience no matter who you are. When someone is arrested by the police, a specific series of events occur. Police must follow legal procedures during the actual arrest process, and at many other stages along the way to place a suspect in jail.
Criminal Law, Alaska Edition by Robert Henderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Although each state has its own code of criminal procedure, many states choose to imitate Federal Rules. So, if it has to do with a person's right to a lawyer, a confession, the right to plead the Fifth Amendment, everything is covered in your kind of criminal procedure. For those interested in a career in criminal prosecution or defense, most law schools also offer advanced versions of the two courses.
If you're a newer law student who hasn't yet taken up both criminal law and criminal procedure, you're not alone. Just as criminal procedure limits what is a reasonable search, criminal procedure specifies what constitutes reasonable questioning. In English law, the prosecution must prove the guilt of a criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt”; but the plaintiff in a civil action is obliged to prove his case “according to the probabilities”. In general, criminal law is a mandatory 1-liter class, whereas students take criminal proceedings during their 2- or 3-liter year, and some students don't take it at all if not required by law school.
During arraignment, a judge calls a person accused of committing a crime, reads the criminal charges against him, asks the defendant if the defendant has access to an attorney or needs the assistance of a court-appointed lawyer, asks him to plead guilty, decides whether to modify the initial bail amount, and set the dates for future proceedings. A number of different types of punishments can be imposed on a convicted criminal defendant, including fines, imprisonment, probation, and even community service. Common problems in criminal law are the elements of specific crimes and the elements of various criminal defenses. While each state has its own criminal laws, some are more influenced than others by the Model Penal Code.
In this section, you'll find information on what to expect at each stage of a typical criminal case, including tips on the arrest process, plea agreements, sentencing options, and more. If you are interested in how the U.S. Constitution protects individuals during criminal proceedings, Grand Canyon University's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Studies with Emphasis in Legal Studies program. .
