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Process of Guilty or Not Guilty

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Process of Guilty or Not Guilty

It wasn’t until 1960 that the Bill of Rights was an actual impact on
The U.S Constitution. Many amendments were not followed and many were broken. When this process happens there is a procedure all officers will follow to prosecute the suspect. There are approximate 15 basic steps. Starting with a suspected violation of law. The book states that as the number of laws increase, so does the potential number of cases the system has to handle. The most important part of a case is the first action taken witch is a police investigation. Their first duty is to clarify if there was a crime committed or was it a misunderstanding. Most of the time calls are made after the crime has been committed other than while the crime is happening. No one ever sees a crime happening before hand.
Any officer who is on call will need a probable cause connecting a suspect to the crime. An officer cannot do certain actions without probable cause. Even the criminals have rights, but once in suspicion of being guilty a warrant will be signed by the judge and now officers have every right to search anything you own and meaning any evidence found against the victim will be used in court. Therefore, after the search and having the suspect now officers can arrest and take into custody. Once arrested, a suspects liberty is at stake, but will also be protected by the communities say. Pg.109. Now that you have the suspect in custody depends on what state that there is a time limit in order to see a judge before court. This process is to let the criminals know what they are being charged with. Once the judge sets your bail you are either free till trial or spending your days in a cell. Bail is like a loan, court holds your money to ensure that the arrestee shows up to trial. A simple arrest has to go through the exact steps. After all the steps have been completed now there will be a plea, stating weather the arrestee is guilty or not guilty.
In the courtroom now we have the suspect, lawyers, judge and the jury. The suspect will have a lawyer present trying to convince the judge and jury he or she is not guilty for their actions. This process will have witnesses and as much evidence needed. The jury will have twelve citizens that will sit through the whole trial and they are the ones who will decide guilty or not guilty. There is room for mistakes if the defendant doesn’t believe the decision they will ask for a re- trial bringing more evidence. The judge can decline the offer as well not always will they get that second chance. If proven guilty that courtroom will be the last sight of freedom seen by the criminal. From there the defendant will be processed into a federal prison or jail time. They will receive correctional treatment by officers and will have to be on their best behavior and might get time cut from their sentencing. Once time is up they will be released either a free man, house arrest, or under probation. Having to check in with an officer every month or even every week. It will all depend on the level of the crime convicted.

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