Trial Procedure

A criminal case begins when a person goes to court and files a complaint that another person has committed an offence. This is followed by issuing… . A criminal case is started when an indictment is returned by a grand jury before anything else happens in the case. Indictments most often are felony accusations against persons who have been arrested and referred to the grand jury. After an accused is indicted, he is brought into court and is told about the nature of the charge against him and asked to plead. He can plead guilty, which is the admission … and can be sentenced without a trial. He can plead not guilty and be tried. As a general rule the parties to civil suits and defendants in criminal cases are entitled… . A jury is not provided unless it is demanded in writing in advance of the trial; in this case a civil or a criminal case is trial to the judge alone, greater criminal cases are tried to a three-judge panel.

In trial by the jury the attorneys for each partymake their opening statements. The prosecution presents its evidence basedon the criminal investigation of the case. The attorney for the defence …, examines his witnesses and cross-examines the witnesses for the prosecution. The law of witness is very strict. Every witness must, before going into the witness box, swear an oath with his/her hand on the Bible, “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. A witness may tell only what he/she himself/herself knows to be true; hearsay evidence is not allowed. Both, the prosecution and the defence, try to convince the jury. When all the evidence is in, the attorneys make their closing arguments to the jury... Both attorneys try to show the evidence in the most favourable light for their sides. But if one of them uses improper material in his final argument the opponent may object, the objection may be ruled out by the judge who will instruct the jury to disregard… .

After this the judge proceeds to instruct the jury on its duty and the jury retires to the jury room to consider the verdict. The duty of the jury is to hear the evidence, …, the remarks of the judge, and reach a unanimous decision as to whether the accused is guilty or innocent. In criminal cases the verdict is valid only… . If not, the jury is dismissed and a new jury is made up. That procedure may be repeated several times until the jury comes to the unanimous decision. In civil cases atleast three-fourths of the jurors must agree on the verdict. The next stage is for the judge to decide, …, what sentence to impose on the convict. Fines, community services (such as probation) or custody may be imposed on a convicted person. If the law was not correctly interpreted and applied or if the accused does not agree with the verdict, he has the right… . There is also a sentence of life imprisonment for murder. In some states of the USA the death penalty was abolished, but in some states it is still used.

1. to appeal to the US Supreme Court

2. to appeal to a higher court

3. what was said or may be sustained

4. either an arrest warrant or a summons

5. if the decision of the jurors is unanimous

6. that his case will be brought to court

7. the speeches of prosecuting and defending counsels

8. in case of a verdict of guilty

9. to trial by jury of 12 jurors

10. that he’s committed the crime

11. pleads the case of the accused

12. with the prosecutor going first

b) Read the text again. The information below is wrong, the facts are distorted. Correct the sentences.

1. A criminal case begins when a person gets a subpoena. 2. After the accused is indicted, he is brought into court and the judge imposes the punishment on him/her. 3. If the accused doesn’t plead guilty, he/she is immediately set free. 4. It is obligatory for the jury to be present in the court. 5. The usual number of jurors is three and they are called a three-juror panel. 6. It doesn’t matter what party makes the opening statement. 7. Witnesses have the right to tell everything they’ve known and heard about the case. 8. Before being examined the witnesses swear an oath on the Bill of Rights. 9. The duty of the jury is to impose a sentence, and the judge guarantees it to be fair.

c) Name the participants of the legal procedure and describe their duties and obligations. Say what participants of the legal procedure are not mentioned in the text “Trial procedure” and what they do in the courtroom.

d) Determine the main stages of the trial procedure in the USA. The example is given below.

The outline of the US trial procedure

1. Filing a complaint.

e) Tell your partner about the trial procedure in the USA. Use the outline you’ve made before.