In the criminal process, there are certain specific features. After all, only in this legal procedure is there a suspect, defense counsel, the injured, the prosecutor, as well as the investigating authorities, which are engaged in the disclosure of the committed act. The peculiarities of the criminal process also consist in the fact that the accused can ask the court to consider his case in a special order, or with a jury. More details about all this will be written in this article.
What you need to know
It must be remembered that the criminal process begins from the moment when a statement or message about the atrocity is received by the internal affairs bodies. If the information is confirmed, then law enforcement authorities open a case and investigate the crime committed by the person. Sometimes it happens that at this stage everything ends, especially in the situation when the person’s guilt is not confirmed.
The peculiarities of the criminal process include the fact that after the citizen is charged, he can ask the court to consider the case in a special manner, or with the jury. This expresses the right of the alleged attacker to protect his interests.
After the case is submitted to the court, a hearing date is set, then further proceedings take place. A sentence is passed, which can be appealed in a certain period of time. After the court decision comes into force, it is enforced.
Important
The main source of norms determining the punishment for committed acts is the Criminal Code. Accordingly, if a person violates the law, and therefore, transgresses its borders, then he will already be one of the subjects of the criminal process. In addition to him, there are other persons:
- investigator, interrogator, prosecutor, court;
- the defender of the alleged attacker and the lawyer of the victim (the latter is hired by the victims themselves).
All subjects of legal proceedings are united only by the commission of an unlawful act. Therefore, another feature of the criminal process is the absence or presence of an investigative link between the deed and the alleged attacker.
Court proceedings
After the preliminary investigation bodies finish their work on collecting evidence, the case is referred to the prosecutor's office. Then, all materials along with the indictment are sent to the judicial authority. After which, the fate of the accused is already in the hands of justice.
In the event that a person admits his guilt in the deed, he can ask this authority to hold a meeting in a special order, that is, without examining the evidence, debating the parties and interviewing witnesses. This usually takes much less time. The peculiarity of the criminal process here is manifested in the fact that a citizen who agrees with the prosecution and admitted his guilt will receive a minimum term of imprisonment.
Jury participation
An accused citizen of a very serious crime has the right to ask non-professional judges to consider the case. After all, all alleged criminals are confident that the jury will impose a milder sentence, or they will issue an acquittal (if the person is not found guilty).
The trial in criminal proceedings is held with the participation of twelve assessors. However, the presiding officer remains a professional civil servant. It should be so by law.
The trial in a jury trial also includes: the public prosecutor, the victim, and the defense attorney of the alleged attacker. After the discussion of the parties, the assessors are sent to a secret room for a decision. If the verdict is acquittal, then the person will be released from custody right in the courtroom.
Faces
In this case we are talking about the subjects of the criminal process, without whose participation it would be impossible to investigate and disclose the atrocities. These include:
- law enforcement bodies and officials who, within the limits of their authority and competence, are involved in the disclosure and investigation of atrocities (investigators, interrogators, prosecutors, courts);
- suspect - a person who allegedly could have committed a crime;
- accused - it becomes a citizen after the investigator formally charges him;
- victim - a person who has been harmed and harmed by a crime;
- the defender of the person who is allegedly guilty of the deed;
- translators, witnesses and experts do not belong to the main participants in the process, because they only help the investigation;
- civil plaintiff - a person who has been harmed as a result of a person committing a crime; has the right to file a claim within the framework of criminal proceedings;
- legal representatives of the alleged attacker or victim are close people (mother, brother, father, sister), as well as guardians and trustees.
Thus, the subjects of the criminal process are all persons who participate and help in the investigation of the committed act. But the main function here is assigned to the judicial authority, because only he decides whether the person is guilty of the deed or not.
Personal consent
In the event that a person fully admits his guilt in the deed, he may ask the court to hold a meeting in a special manner. This means that witnesses will not be called and interviewed at the meeting, and the collected evidence will remain unexplored. Nevertheless, a special procedure for considering a criminal case in court is possible only if:
- the consent of the alleged attacker, the victim and the prosecutor to sentencing without a trial has been obtained;
- if the term of punishment under the article for atrocity is not more than ten years in isolation from society;
- the accused has a clear understanding of all the consequences of such a decision;
- there is some evidence that the person really committed the crime and is guilty of it;
- There is no reason to close the proceedings.
Such a simplified procedure of the court session allows you to save time for employees of the court apparatus, which is necessary for the study of other, more important and complex cases, as well as reduce government spending. In addition, the accused in this case will receive the shortest time for the deed. Nevertheless, the special procedure for considering a criminal case in court cannot be applied if the presiding judge has even the slightest doubt about the person’s guilt.
Protection
A lawyer in a criminal process has a special role. After all, a well-developed tactic for the defense of the defendant allows a professional lawyer not only to reduce the term of his sentence, but also completely free the client from imprisonment. Therefore, the choice of a lawyer must be approached with all responsibility. You should not trust your life to the public defender, because he is completely not interested in the defendant being acquitted and released from punishment. It is best to hire a lawyer on your own, after consulting with those people who have already turned to him for help. In the event that the opinions of the client and the defender differ, it is necessary to refuse his services. Indeed, the participation in the criminal process of a lawyer who is not sure of the innocence of his client is a certain guarantee that the court will issue an indictment.
Sentence
Almost every criminal process ends with the court issuing a procedural act in respect of the alleged attacker. The sentence may be acquittal or indictment. It depends on how the court decides. However, to appeal the procedural act, the parties have a certain period of time. Usually it is ten days.
A sentence in a criminal proceeding is subject to immediate execution after it enters into legal force. If the convicted person was in the pre-trial detention center during the conduct of the investigation, then this period should be counted towards the term of imprisonment.
After the entry into force of an acquittal procedural act, a person has the right to full rehabilitation.
Criminal proceedings
Sometimes it happens that the convict and his lawyer try to appeal an unfair sentence to a higher court. Thus, a procedural act can go through several instances. In the event that the district or regional court dismissed the complaint, the verdict takes effect immediately. Then the procedural act can be appealed only by filing a supervisory appeal. Indeed, that is how many people who were convicted illegally sought their full justification and subsequent rehabilitation. But in practice this is now extremely rare.
However, in criminal proceedings, cases are sometimes reviewed if new circumstances of what happened appear in them. After all, everything happens in life. Therefore, bringing the case to court and passing a sentence does not mean the end of the proceedings. Moreover, if the convict does not consider himself guilty and wants to achieve full rehabilitation.