Arraignment Case Study

Within the criminal justice system, there is a process to ensure that crime is controlled and ensure crimes committed are punished. An investigation is the first stage of the process. In many cases it is the investigation that leads to the arrest. In both cases there are different components in which are taken into place prior to the arrest. In the following case study “Officer Tim Bronson”, we will discuss the process from arrest leading to pretrial.
Case Information
In the following night of October 3rd, Officer Bronson was called to a burglary on 4321 West Jefferson. When an officer is dispatched they are presented with details presenting the following call. In this particular case, Officer Bronson received information pertaining to the alleged perpetrator, which was

described as a, “Caucasian male, approximately twenty to twenty-five years of age with a light build, wearing a blue jeans and a white zipper up hoody jacket”. This information then led to the arrest of suspected burglar, which was identified as Carl Davidson.
The process of arrest
When a law enforcement officer takes the officer into custody, an arrest is originated. Before to the officer takes the suspect into custody they must have probable cause. This means that they have reasonable belief, that the suspect committed the crime based on facts. According to Dressler, & Michaels (2006), “assuming that a criminal investigation results in police determination that there is probable cause to believing that the suspect committed the crime, she may be arrested,”(p.17). Without having probable cause, it is difficult proving the guilt of the suspect for the crime and it is indeed a legal necessity for an arrest. Officer Bronson has probable cause on a couple different factors, number one that the suspect matches the description provided by dispatched and the second that Officer Bronson made contact with the young man he fled. These are a couple of things, which led to the arrest of the young man, Carl Davidson. Ultimately, when someone is arrested they are taken or restrained from their freedom, they are then to face the allege offense or crime.

Process of Arraignment

The next step in criminal procedure is the arraignment process.

According to Kuckes (2006),“Arraignment is simply an initial court appearance typically limited to such preliminary matters as informing the defendant of the charges and of his rights, determining whether counsel should be appointed, or determining how the defendant will plead,”(p.23). As it is the suspect first time appearance, defendant will officially enter a plea. It is during the arraignment where the judge will allow for the defendant to accept a plea and a lawyer will be appointment if the defendant does not have one. They first plea that can be entered, is the guilty plea. When a defendant submits the guilty plea, they are confessing they are guilty of committing the crime and the judge will then sentence them. Second plea that can be entered is the not guilty plea. In the following plea the defendant is denying guilt and therefore the case will be sent to next stage in the criminal process, pre-trial or a disposition. Lastly, the other plea a defendant can enter is a no contest plea, a plea of no contest the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges that the government can prove that there is evidentiary

evidence.

Pre-trial

The pre-trial procedure in a criminal case purpose is primarily trying to see if both parties can resolve case. This means both defendant and prosecutor come to an agreement, such as reasonable plea and in some cases, there is no form of agreement and therefore it goes to trial. In many cases it comes down to the severity of the crime.
In addition to the severity, there are adittional