First, the trial process.
1. announce the trial of the case, and find out the name, age, place of origin, address and occupation of the parties;
2. If the parties, witnesses and expert witnesses are unable to appear in court, the court will decide whether to hold a hearing or postpone the hearing as appropriate after listening to the opinions of the parties who appear in court. If it is decided to postpone the hearing, the date, time and place of the hearing shall be determined as appropriate, and a summons or notice shall be served again. If a hearing is decided, the name, age, place of origin, address, occupation and relationship with the parties of the witnesses and appraisers who testify in court shall be ascertained, and the legal responsibilities for testifying and appraising shall be informed;
3. Then the judge informs the parties of their litigation rights, announces the list of court hearing personnel and clerks, and asks the parties whether they want to withdraw. If the parties ask the judge to withdraw, the presiding judge shall make a ruling; If the clerk is required to withdraw, the court shall make a ruling. The ruling rejecting the application for withdrawal does not allow appeal. In order to make the trial of a case go smoothly, if judges, people's jurors and clerks think that they have an interest or other relationship with the case and it is necessary to withdraw, they should take the initiative to put forward their own opinions, and the president or the court will make a ruling respectively.
Second, the three stages of criminal cases
1, investigation stage (public security stage). From the time a person is arrested to the time the case is transferred to the procuratorate, this stage is called the "investigation stage", which usually lasts about three months. It mainly includes detention for more than one month and arrest for about two months. This stage is an investigation by the public security department to find out the ins and outs of the case and the basic facts. Lawyers are not allowed to see documents.
2. Review and prosecution stage (procuratorial stage). After the case was transferred by the public security organ to the public prosecution department of the procuratorate, it entered the stage of examination and prosecution. The main task in the stage of examination and prosecution is to examine whether the case files are sufficient and true. This stage is usually one month to one and a half months in time. After receiving the case file sent by the public security organ, the procuratorate will examine whether the party concerned constitutes a crime. If the evidence is conclusive and the facts are clear, which constitutes a crime, it shall be transferred to the court for prosecution within 1 month. If supplementary investigation is needed, it shall be returned to the public security organ for supplementary investigation.
3. Trial stage: (court stage). After receiving the prosecution materials from the procuratorate, the court will file a case within 2-3 days, hold a court session within 1 month, and be sentenced to punishment or acquitted. When trying a case of public prosecution, the court shall pronounce a judgment within one month after accepting it, and no later than one and a half months.
Legal basis: Article 158 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC). If the investigation cannot be concluded within the time limit stipulated in Article 156 of this Law, it may be extended for two months with the approval or decision of the people's procuratorate of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government:
(1) Major and complicated cases in remote areas with very inconvenient transportation;
(2) Major criminal group cases;
(3) Major and complicated cases of escaping crime;
(four) major and complex cases involving a wide range and difficult to obtain evidence.
According to the above provisions, the general time limit for people's courts to hear cases of first instance should be three to six months.