Criminal Trial Process Analysis

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A criminal trial consists of eight steps that must be followed in chronological order: trial initiation, jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments, judge’s charge to the jury, jury deliberations, and verdict. Each stage of the process is executed to offer a fair trial and to ensure that the rights of the accused are not violated.

Trials are well planned processes where lawyers present evidence to the jury and decisions are made if the defendant is innocent or guilty. In a trial, the judge takes the role of an unbiased participate and ensures the trials process has been completed fairly and the rights of the accused have not been violated.

The next step involves the selection of twelve jurors. This requires that both prosecution and defense lawyers question potential jurors to hear, review the facts, and deem one innocent or guilty. When selecting the jury, attorneys may not discriminate against anyone (e.g. sex, nationality, cultures, etc.). All possible jurors must go through a series of questions. For example, an attorney may ask a juror if they agree with legalizing all forms of narcotics. In a drug case a potential juror that answers “yes” to legalize all forms of narcotics would not be suitable for an illegal narcotics case. Potential jurors may also be released without reason using the peremptory challenges clause. …show more content…

This allows the prosecution to state their facts and strategies on what they intend to prove. It also allows the defense attorney to express their own interpretation and strategies for clearing the defendant of all charges. These statements should be convincing, short and should not include witnesses or evidence as it pertains to the

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