Detailed Stages of Criminal Prosecution for Felony Crimes in the US

This report provides a detailed overview of the stages of criminal prosecution for felony crimes in the United States, beginning with arrest and proceeding through arraignment, preliminary hearings, grand jury proceedings, pre-trial motions, trial, sentencing, and appeals. It explains the roles of key players like the police, judges, and juries, as well as the constitutional rights afforded to the accused, including the right to remain silent, the right to challenge witnesses, and the right to a speedy trial. The report also discusses plea bargaining, the concept of double jeopardy, and the importance of an effective criminal justice system. Furthermore, it highlights flaws within the current system and suggests recommendations for improvement, such as appointing special prosecuting agencies, enhancing data collection, implementing bias training, and streamlining procedural processes to ensure a fairer and more efficient legal process. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of a just criminal justice system that protects the rights of both the accused and the victims.

Running Head : Stages of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
STAGES OF CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF FELONY CRIME IN UNITED STATES
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1Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
Introduction
The process of criminal justice varies from state to state, and the criminal justice process
at the federal level has its own rules and procedures.The felony is considered as the most severe
form of crime which is punishable for more than one year (Bohn, Freedman & Owens, 2015).
The judge while sentencing an accused charged of felony crime considers the additional
circumstances which includes the level of education, past criminal record, financial condition,
substance history of exploitation of an accused person (Hester & Hartman, 2017). The paper
focuses on the detailed criminal procedures of a felony crime and the recommendation to
improve the criminal process in the United States.
Discussion
The criminal prosecution progresses in a range of stages which initiate with the arrest of
the accused person and ends prior or during continuation or at the end of the trial. Most of the
criminal proceedings dispose of when the accused accepts the plea bargaining presented by the
prosecution( Lofstrom & Raphael, 2016). In plea bargaining, the defendant either accept to beg
guilty prior to trial or plea for slighter charges in exchange for lenient punishment( Shannon et
al, 2017). The criminal proceedings initiated with the arrest of an accused person by the police
officer under valid warrant of arrest. Bail is granted to the accused on payment of bail amount in
an altercation of release. The suspected person can also be released on own recognizance but for
releasing the accused on own recognizance the court needs to consider the gravity of the offence
and previous record of accused (Pakes, 2019). The first appearance by the accused person after

2Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
an arrest is an arraignment where the judges recite the charges that is stated in the complaint to
the accused (Fosten, 2016). The accused either chose guilty or not guilty or no contest to that
charges. There is two processes in the federal system that is Preliminary hearing and Grand jury
proceedings. In the preliminary proceedings, both prosecution and accused makes argument
while on the other hand, Grand Jury proceedings the jury hears from the prosecutor only. In the
Pre-trial motion, both parties attempt to resolve the issues and discover evidence which will be
admissible at the time of trial. At the stage of trial, the jury either find the accused guilty or not.
The onus proving the guilt of accused in the criminal proceedings rests on the prosecution
(Vogler, 2017). The jury makes the concluding determination of guilt after considering the
examination, cross-examinations and closing statements of witnesses. If the jury found the
person guilty then the court will pronounce sentencing of the convict and if no guilt is
established against the accused, later the case will be dismissed. In the Sentencing phase, the
court concludes the appropriate sentencing of accused considering the severity of the offence and
previous criminal record. The individuals are dissatisfied with the verdict of conviction
pronounced by the trial court the aggrieved person may file an appeal either to converse the
conviction or for reconsidering the case.
In the case of Mr Sufferer, he is accused of the offence of burglary and his previous
criminal record for selling narcotics. As a victim’s lawyer it is his duty to explain possible
outcome for each phase of criminal proceedings. The burglary can be defined in legal terms as
entering the building of others with the intention to commit the offence, For establishing the
crime of burglary it is required to prove the guilt of accused by the prosecution beyond a
reasonable doubt. In order to prove the guilt of accused, it is necessary to confirm the followings
factors that are the application of force, unauthorized entry and intention to commit the offence

3Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
(Beckett & Evans, 2015). The police officer arrests Mr Sufferer who is suspected of committing
burglary. After completing the booking process by a police officer the suspected person will be
placed in custody. The suspected person first appears in the court where Mr Sufferer either
pleads guilty or claimed to be tried to the alleged charges of burglary. In the preliminary hearing,
the jury made the decisive finding of probable cause. At the trial stage, the guilt of the accused
would be determined by jury and it is the duty of the prosecutor to prove the guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. The accused has constitutional entitlements in most of the criminal cases at the
time of trial. During sentencing, the court either pronounce appropriate sentencing considering
the severity of the offence.
The constitutional protection guarantee to the accused at the time of trial is the mandate
that the prosecution has to establish the guilt of accused away from reasonable doubt. According
to the fifth amendment made to the Constitution of the United States that the accused have the
liberty to remain silent during the criminal trial. Another right enshrined to the accused by the
Sixth Amendment in the constitution of the United States is the right of accused to challenge
witnesses. The defendant has the right of public trial in criminal proceedings. The defendants
also have constitutional liberty to try the case by jury except for the trivial offence of punishing
six months or less imprisonment. The accused also have right of speedy trial that if the jury has
to dispose of the case promptly. The accused have right to by attorney for his defence. If the
accused is an indigent person then the jury must appoint pleader at the expense of the
government before punishing the defendant. The Supreme Court of the United States is required
that both the indigent person who is symbolized by counsel appointed by the government and the
defendant who appoint counsel by own expense have the adequate right of representation not
only at the stage of trial but also during plea bargaining. The right of Double Jeopardy safeguard

4Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
the accused from being tried for the same offence twice. That is to that no individuals can be
tried for the same criminal offence twice. Furthermore, Double Jeopardy prohibits more than one
criminal prosecution arising out of same act.
The effective criminal justice structure are able to investigate and adjudicate crimes
efficiently and impartially. It also ensures to safeguards the right of both the accused and the
victims (Siegel & Worrall, 2018). If the criminal justice system is ineffective it will destroy the
credibility of judicial structure and deteriorates the regulation of law( Lofstrom & Raphael,
2016). It also potentially distress the liberty of the accused and raise the obstruction to the
accessibility in the judicial system. On the contrary, there are several loopholes in the criminal
justice system of the United States.
Although it is said that criminal justice should be just, fair and impartial and afford equal
treatment to all individual. In practical application, it is observed that there are various flaws in
the enforcement of the criminal justice system in the United States. The following strategies
assist in enhancing the penal system which involves firstly appointment of special prosecuting
agency to investigate the misconduct of police officers. Secondly, another method could be
enhancing the data collection on the mortality rate in which the police officers involved. Thirdly
implementing implicit bias teaching to enforcement officers of federal legislation and also to the
state and native police who are engaged in central task forces (Lofstrom & Raphael, 2016). The
fourth effective method could be growing the federal administration omission of police conduct.
The criminal justice system is formulated to safeguard the rights of the individuals and
also penalize the act of the person if it is contrary to the law of the land (Beckett & Evans, 2015).
So there should be reform in the criminal justice system to make it effective and powers of
enforcement officers should be restricted to prevent abuse of authority. The following

5Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
recommendation assists in improving the criminal proceeding which envisages that The criminal
prosecution should be concluded speedily and successfully (Mitchell, 2017). There should be
clear arrangement among the public prosecution and police officers about which case require
extra attention (Neubauer & Fradella, 2018). The convicted person must serve 92% of the jail
sentence within a year. The trail of the suspected person must be disposed of speedily. There
should be the availability of procedural documents in the digital method both to the public and
the pleader (Neubauer & Fradella, 2018). The process of lodging a complaint should be made
easier and more consideration must be given to the sufferers.
Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded that the system of criminal justice involves a series of stages
starting from the investigation by the police authority and ends in the release of a convicted
person from correctional observation. The decisions and rules are the core of the system. The
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure regulates the process of criminal proceedings in the crown
court of the United States

6Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
References
Beckett, K., & Evans, H. (2015). Crimmigration at the local level: Criminal justice processes in
the shadow of deportation. Law & Society Review, 49(1), 241-277.Lofstrom, M., &
Raphael, S. (2016). Crime, the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic
inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(2), 103-26.
Bohn, S., Freedman, M., & Owens, E. (2015). The criminal justice response to policy
interventions: Evidence from immigration reform. American Economic Review, 105(5),
214-19.
Fosten, G. K. (2016). Perspectives on social inequality, criminal justice, and race in the United
States: A critical analysis. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 20.
Hester, R., & Hartman, T. K. (2017). Conditional race disparities in criminal sentencing: A test
of the liberation hypothesis from a non-guidelines state. Journal of quantitative
criminology, 33(1), 77-100.
Lofstrom, M., & Raphael, S. (2016). Crime, the criminal justice system, and socioeconomic
inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(2), 103-26.
Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2018). America's courts and the criminal justice system.
Cengage Learning.
Pakes, F. (2019). Comparative criminal justice. Routledge.Mitchell, K. L. (2017). State
Sentencing Guidelines: A Garden Full of Variety. Fed. Probation, 81, 28.

7Stage of criminal prosecution of felony crime in United States
Shannon, S. K., Uggen, C., Schnittker, J., Thompson, M., Wakefield, S., & Massoglia, M.
(2017). The growth, scope, and spatial distribution of people with felony records in the
United States, 1948–2010. Demography, 54(5), 1795-1818.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2018). Essentials of criminal justice. Cengage Learning.
Vogler, R. (2017). A world view of criminal justice. Routledge.