By Akram Mondal
A felony can be referred to as any punishable offense where a death sentence or imprisonment for more than one year is given. Felonies are considered the most serious of all the crimes.
When a person commits a crime, the State brings charges against that individual and thereafter the legal proceedings get initiated according to the law of the land.
This is the system followed to provide justice to both the appellant and defendant. As a law-abiding citizen, you need to know the procedure of trial that gets followed in the court.
If you want to know them in greater detail, you need to take advice from a felony lawyer in the US. So let’s have a go through the stages.
1. Arrest
Criminal cases usually begin with the arrest of the defendant. Whenever or wherever the police get constructive evidence of some guilt, immediately the person is arrested by the police.
Other than this the police under certain circumstances become compelled to arrest an individual after getting an arrest warrant.
2. Initial Appearance
This constitutes the first hearing of the hearing in the court. This first hearing is carried out without the appellant or the witness.
The first hearing is initiated for three reasons. Firstly the defendant is less aware of the charges based on which he is arrested.
Secondly, it provides an opportunity for the defendant to arrange a Felony Lawyer in Marietta Ga in defense of the charges.
The third reason is that if the judge determines whether the defendant will be provided with the bail or not.
3. Bail
The magistrate of the court could issue bail to the defendant when the individual is in police custody.
There are certain factors that are considered by the magistrate before letting the person bail. If the person has no such track record of offense earlier, (that is earlier criminal history) the judge may allow bail in that case.
Actually, bail is a written warrant where the defendant promises to attend the court whenever the situation demands.
4. Preliminary Hearing
The preliminary hearing determines the severity of the evidence based on which the defendant was arrested.
The work of procuring enough evidence based on which criminal charge is hurled at the defendant is done by the attorney along with the police.
Specifically, evidence is presented against the defendant to show that his arrest is well within the laws and regulations of the US courts of justice.
5. Grand Jury Hearings
A Grand jury constitutes a group of 23 citizens hailing from the same judicial district who examines the cases procured against the defendant.
This is actually not a trial but is considered an important review of the prominence of the entire case.
6. Arraignment
In this particular hearing, the magistrate judge informs the defendant of the charges and considers the bail conditions. In this hearing, the date of the case is set for trial.
7. Hearing On Motions
Prior to the trial, a motion is moved from the end of the defendant or the State. This might take into account the motions to suppress the evidence or extract some vital discovery.
In these cases, the witnesses are generally not required to be presented to the court.
8. Witness Conference
If you are the witness in this very case, the Felony Lawyer in Marietta Ga may contact you to appear before the court on the said date for trial.
The ultimate aim of this very trial is to freshly review the evidence made. You will be entitled to a witness fee against attending the proceedings in court.
9. Trial
When the trial begins you (being the witness) will be notified by a subpoena- a formal order to appear before the court.
You need to check your subpoena for the exact time for which you are to appear before the court.
Felony trials do not always go as planned. Sometimes it happens that the defendant pleads guilty at the eleventh hour of judgment. Sometimes the trials get postponed for many reasons.
Now, a felony Trial follows an identical pattern or alignment of trial as in the case of any other criminal case.
The appellant, as well as the defendant, are allowed to put forward their logic and testimonials towards their respective aims.
10. Sentencing
The court considers each and every perspective of the sides. In between the time and conviction, the court prepares a report of a pre-sentence investigation.
The court will finally go on to reveal the sentence; impose a fine or make a combination of the two.
A Victim Impact Sentence will be read by the Judge who will sentence the defendant.
Conclusion
The legal system of the US is extremely strong and democratic which provides ample opportunity to the concerned parties involved in the trial.
It has strict laws and legislation frameworks that work the exact justice for the one who rightfully deserves it.
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