Criminal Procedures

Criminal procedure is the legislative rules that run the proceedings of criminal law. In the United States, The US code, Title 18, Part II, dictates the federal statutes on crimes. The states have their own adopted criminal statutes that resemble those of the US criminal code.

Below is a list of some elements of that fall under criminal procedure in the US code:

• General provisions
  Arrest and commitment
  Searches and seizures
  Speedy trial
  Grand jury
  Indictment and information
  Arraignment, pleas and trial
  Witnesses and evidence
  Verdict
  Sentences
  

The criminal justice system in the United States is an adversarial and accusatorial model. Criminal procedure is in place to balance right’s of the defendant and interest’s of the state’s prosecution. The precedent behind the design and structure of the system is in place to protect the rights of the defendant.

Every state has a set of statutes that govern the body of that state’s criminal code. Being an adversarial model, the justice of a defendant depends on having a highly skilled criminal defense lawyer interpret the laws, present and argue the rights of the defendant, and ultimately persuade the court into ruling that the defendant be exonerated of guilt.