The prosecutor of a criminal case in the United States is the federal government of the United States, which is a case filed on behalf of the state government to investigate the criminal responsibility of the defendant. As long as the prosecutor thinks the evidence can be prosecuted, he will go to court. Of course, if the prosecutor thinks that the evidence does not meet the prosecution standards, he will take the initiative to withdraw the lawsuit.
In the United States, criminal cases can only seek to reach a plea bargain with prosecutors with mitigating conditions. Remember that the victim is a witness and the federal government represented by the prosecutor is the plaintiff! If you reach a settlement with the victim, you must commit perjury, and perjury is also a crime.
Extended data:
In the United States, criminal proceedings include many stages from investigation to judgment. Some are pre-trial litigation activities; While others are court proceedings. The main stages are as follows:
First, arrest (? Arrest? )
An incident triggered an investigation by law enforcement officers. The investigation produced a suspect and formally decided to arrest him or her. The basis for the decision to arrest is the indictment (charged by the prosecutor to the court) or the indictment (filed by the grand jury). According to the specific circumstances, the arrest can be carried out with or without a formal arrest warrant.
Second, the first instance (? An arraignment? )
If it is decided to drop the charges against him, the defendant may be released soon after registration. This is probably because the prosecutor consulted thinks the evidence is too weak or insufficient.
Otherwise, the arresting authority must immediately hand over the defendant to the magistrate or judge. This will be the defendant's first contact with the judicial system. This is called "first trial" and comes from French, which means "speaking".
The magistrate or judge will inform the defendant of the charges against him and inform him of his rights, especially the right to be represented by a lawyer. If the defendant has no money to hire a private lawyer, the court will appoint a public defender to help him.
Third, the pre-trial hearing (? Preliminary? Listening? )
At the pre-trial hearing, the judge should decide whether there is reasonable basis to believe that someone has committed a crime and the defendant is a criminal.
If the answers to these two questions are in the affirmative, the defendant will be "ordered" to be tried, and unless he pleads "guilty" or "uncontested plea", he can be released on bail again; If he can't pay bail, he will be put in prison for trial.
Four. Pretrial motion
During the period between arrest and trial, the defense lawyer can take some actions, such as filing a motion with the judge, asking the defense lawyer to dismiss the charges on the grounds of technical defects, and asking the defense lawyer to change the venue of the trial if the case becomes extremely biased among the local public.
Five, select the jury (? Jury? Choice? )
The first activity of the court criminal trial is to select the jury. The typical process of the activity is as follows: a group of jury candidates are summoned to the court.
There may be 20 people in a general case, but there are more people in those cases that have caused great social impact before the trial, because many candidates will be exempted from the obligation to serve as jurors in this case because they have formed irrevocable opinions on the defendant's guilt or innocence.
Sixth, the opening remarks (? Opening? Statement)
At the beginning of the trial, lawyers of both sides were allowed to make opening statements to the jury they had just selected. These are not debates; The debate must wait until the court investigation is over.
7. pro section' case-in-chief of the procuratorial organ.
The prosecutor will issue summonses to all or most of his witnesses to ensure that they appear in court at the appointed time. A subpoena may also require the witness to produce physical evidence, such as documents or records. In the main indictment, the prosecution must present evidence-testimony and evidence-to prove every legal element of the alleged crime.
8. The defense's motion to drop the charges? (The defense requests dismissal? Charge)
If the defense believes that the evidence about any basic elements of the charges is not enough to make a guilty verdict, then he will take action at this time and demand that the charges be dropped.
Ninth, the defense gives evidence.
Just as the prosecution summons witnesses and presents physical evidence, the defendant will directly summon people to testify and present relevant physical evidence for the benefit of the defendant. However, the defendant himself can object to the privilege of self-incrimination according to the Fifth Amendment, and there is no need to testify in court, thus avoiding cross-examination by the prosecutor.
Refuting evidence
At this point, the prosecution will have the opportunity to refute the evidence of the other party or the evidence of the defense. When the two sides finally "wait for treatment", it is the lawyer's "final debate" (summary of the debate), which is the instruction (instruction) of the trial judge to the jury on the application of the law. In most areas, the first is the lawyer's final argument, and then the judge's instructions to the jury; But in a few areas, the order is just the opposite.
XI。 Final statement to the jury? (Jury closing statement)
Different from the opening statement, the summary of the evidence debate in the final stage of criminal proceedings is controversial, and this debate is sometimes fierce. At this time, both lawyers are in the final stage of the lawsuit, which may also be the most important stage.
Twelve. The judge's instructions to the jury
At this time, the trial judge will give the jurors instructions about the law. Jurors will elect a member as the chairman of their deliberations. The elements of crime will be described. The jury will be told that the defendant can only be found guilty if the prosecution proves every element of the crime beyond doubt.
Thirteen. Deliberation and verdict of the jury.
In criminal cases, the verdict of guilt or innocence requires unanimous consent. If jurors can't agree on a verdict, the result is what lawyers call a "hanged" jury. This deadlock will become a "pending case" and lead to a retrial of the defendant, unless the frustrated prosecution decides to drop the charges at this time.
Fourteen judgement
Penalties range from probation (the defendant is not imprisoned, but his behavior is supervised by the probation officer for a certain period of time and may be required to engage in some public service activities as a condition of probation) to imprisonment or death penalty. The trial was over when the judge announced the verdict on the defendant.