Steps in Criminal Jury Trial
Upon being charged with a crime, the defendant is provided with some documents including an appearance notice and promise to appear in court, summons, the information, etc. This states the charges, the offense, and then date, time and place of the opening court appearance (Walston-Dunham, 2011). In this instance, the case now proceeds to the trial phase. For a case to be complete, it has to follow through six main steps i.e. selecting a jury, opening statements, evidence presentation and cross-examination, the final remarks, jury instructions, and finally the jury verdict.
Selecting the jury - The first step begins by choosing the jury. Where a trial is to be held before a jury, then it infers that the defense and the prosecution must select the jury through “voir dire” i.e. question and answer process. Here, the judge eliminates to retain required numbers of jurors based on their manner of responding to questions.
Opening statement - Once a jury has been selected we then proceed to the opening statements phase. At this stage, the defense and the prosecution make the opening statements to the jury. The prosecutor goes first with his statement being more in depth before the defense can make his opening remarks. The prosecutor provides from the government’s standpoint, the events surrounding the case, while the defense gives his version of facts (Walston-Dunham, 2011). The statements describe and outline of the case that each party is presumed to ascertain.
Evidence presentation and cross-examination - It is at this stage when the witness is called to give testimony to the jury. The eyewitness is then expected to give truthful accounts of the events surrounding the case. The witness is then taken through a series of questions and answers to enable gather sufficient information and evidence as well as support the party’s stand in the case. Subsequently, the opposing party is given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness by attacking his credibility in a way to discredit him. Once each side has presented their case and challenged the evidence, both parties come to an agreement that no more evidence shall be presented to the jury (Walston-Dunham, 2011).
Final arguments – At this stage, the prosecutor gives the closing remarks by summarizing the evidence as he perceives it and clarifying why the jury should render the verdict as guilty. At the same time, the defense defines why the jury should ascertain the verdict as not guilty.
Jury instructions – After both sides have had the opportunity to rest their evidence, it is here that the judge instructs the jury regarding the legal standards to apply in the case based on the criminal charges and the evidence provided from there.
Jury deliberation and verdict – The jurors go through deliberation process in an attempt to conclude on the status of the defendant as to whether they are guilty or not, of the crime being charged before making a verdict. In this case, the jurors must prove to be unanimous (Walston-Dunham, 2011). In the cases where the number of the jurors approving a verdict is less, the case may be retried. This is the final stage of a trial proceeding.
Difference between criminal and civil cases
Criminal cases are deemed to be offenses that are against the governing state laws and are subsequently prosecuted by the state. On the other hand, civil cases are those disputes between persons or entities concerning legal obligations that they owe each other (Walston-Dunham, 2011). The major fundamental differences between criminal and civil cases may conclude that: Criminal cases will result to a defendant serving a considerable amount of period in jail as potential punishment while in the civil case only results in monetary damages in the form of paying fine as a possible sentence. In instances, the criminal trial process allows for a trial by jurors while in civil cases the results are decided by a judge (Walston-Dunham, 2011). Lastly, in the case of a criminal proceeding, a defendant is required to have an attorney. In the event where the defendant is not capable of affording one, the state provides him with one whereas, in the civil case, the defendant is not provided with an attorney, and must therefore pay to acquire one or else can defend themselves.
References
Walston-Dunham, B. (2011). Introduction to law. Clifton Park, N.Y: Delmar.
