1.4: CJ Process

CJ Process

As mentioned earlier, criminal justice can also be looked at as a process. From the process perspective, the focus is on the flow of cases or individuals, not on the individual agencies. The process is broken down into 15 separate steps. Besides understanding each of the steps, it is also important to understand that the flow of a case may not necessarily be smooth or proceed through each of these 15 steps. Each of these steps represents a decision point where a criminal justice agent will be deciding whether to release the case or continue it to the next step in the process. Along the way, there is a lot of discretion in the hands of many different individuals. Critics argue this is also where a lot of bargaining takes place, and so critics often refer to it as an “assembly line” process.

Police

1. Initial contact—in most instances, a citizen’s initial contact with the criminal justice system is result of a police action such as pulling someone over, asking questions about a reported incident, responding to a call by a victim, and so on.

2. Investigation—during a criminal investigation, evidence is gathered to both properly identify a suspect and determine if there is sufficient evidence to support a legal arrest. An investigation can be very quick such as observing a crime in progress or some investigations may continue on almost indefinitely until the case goes cold.

3. Arrest—once there is enough evidence also referred to as “probable cause” that the suspect has indeed committed an illegal act the officer may control the suspect and place them under arrest. The arrest does not always involve handcuffs, though it usually does, as sometimes an order for arrest may be issued through a court document.

4. Custody—after an arrest to aid in detaining a suspect, the suspect may be taken into custody. This custody may mean putting someone in a squad car, or a police lineup, or an interrogation room, or a jail cell depending on the decisions of the officers in charge.

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Courts

5. Charging—if the arresting officer or a superior believes that there is enough evidence to officially charged the suspect with a crime the case will then be turned over to the prosecutor’s office. While officers may write down what they think the charges should be on various forms of paperwork, it will actually be the prosecutor’s office which will decide on the official charges.

6. Preliminary hearing—the next step will be to hold a preliminary hearing in front of a judge or to have a meeting of a grand jury. In either case, the purpose of this hearing is to allow the courts to determine if in fact prosecution should continue or if the charges against the citizen are false.

7. Arraignment—if it is determined that the prosecution shall continue than the defendant has the right to know whether formal charges are against them. The defendant has the right to an attorney at this step as well as during any questioning that may have come earlier. As you will see in the court chapters later, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. If the case is going to go to trial at this step, typically, the trial date is set.

8. Bail—since a trial date may be scheduled quite far into the future and it is not proven yet that the defendant is guilty bail may be considered as a type of compromise. The accused would like to go free for now and the courts would like to ensure that they will return for trial—a certain amount of money is held by the courts as a type of guarantee. If the defendant returns for the trial, their money will be returned as well. If the defendant does not return for the trial, the money will be forfeited and awarded for their arrest will likely be issued. If the alleged crime is relatively minor such as a speeding ticket often once promise in terms of a signature on the ticket will suffice and money will not have to be paid immediately.

9. Plea bargaining—at some point during the steps between arraignment and trial, sometimes a plea bargain agreement is reached. Typically, a plea bargain involves a guilty plea from the defendant in exchange for reducing the severity of the charges or possible sentence. About 90% of all criminal cases end in a plea bargain rather than a formal criminal trial.

10. Trial—if a plea bargain agreement has not been reached between the prosecution and defense and the prosecution has not dropped the charges, then a trial will be held. The trial may be in front of a jury or simply in front of a judge, but in either case the evidence must show that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or else they will be found innocent.

11. Sentencing—at the conclusion of the criminal trial, if the defendant was found guilty as charged, they will then be returned to court for sentencing. Depending on the severity of the charge, the sentence may be as lenient as a small fine or time served or it may be as severe as the death penalty.

12. Appeal—after a conviction at the conclusion of the trial, the defendants or their attorney may decide that errors were made during the trial or even that their constitutional rights were violated during the trial process. If such claims are made the case may go to an appellate court which will review the transcripts of the case to see if the case was handled appropriately. If errors or right violations are found, the defendant may be given a new trial or even released.

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Corrections

13. Correctional Treatment—the sentence will state where the offender will be placed within the jurisdiction of correctional authorities. Corrections include a wide range of options from fines, to probation, to jail time, to prison or a combination thereof. Some programs are designed more as a type of punishment while others are designed to aid rehabilitation and help the individual readjust successfully back into the community.

14. Release—upon the completion of the sentence and the period of time to be served offenders may be released and given back their freedom or they may be released from an institution but placed in a program such as parole where they still have some elements of supervision but are allowed to resume their lives in the community.

15. Post-release—after being released from a correctional facility, some offenders are given absolute freedom while others may spend some time in a community correctional facility that is less strict than the facility they came from but does not offer absolute freedom in the beginning. If the offender makes good progress in obtaining a job and a place to stay, they may then be released from the community facility and granted their freedom or placed on parole for a period of time. Eventually, if the individual follows the rules and makes progress, they will regain their freedom but if they break the rules or commit new crimes, they will lose their privileges and possibly begin a journey through the steps all over again.

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