Basics of Criminal Procedure

Rather than chew up too much more class time on criminal cases, let me spell out a few ins and outs here.

After the arrest, the suspect is booked. Remember that, despite what we see in crime dramas, law enforcement officials must have probable cause before going after someone.

Remember also that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits unlawful searches and seizures. Police MUST have probable cause to obtain a search warrant from a judge.

When they do get a warrant, they can search the person, the person's clothing - anything in the "plain view" of the officer. Warrants aren't generally public knowledge, but a solid relationship with an officer or a court clerk can produce tips now and then about notable warrants issued against notable people.

Most folks who are arrested are released after questioning - the evidence isn't strong enough to hold them. The police may tell the person to not leave the area. Most of the time, you won't know about arrests, detentions, and bookings, unless the police want you to know - or unless you dig around.

You usually have more regular contact with the District Attorney, or DA - in Philadelphia, that's Lynne Abraham. It's an elected position. This is a key relationship - you're often flying without files, so you depend on regular contact, and the odd leak. This doesn't prevent you from learning key facts for the first time in court, however.

So, this is what we've got so far: WARRANT-ARREST-BOOKING.

The prosecutor in the case will try to determne if he or she can actually charge the person with a crime. They'll also gather evidence that can't be used in court, either because it's prejudicial, or because of a flaw in the search or arrest.

The prosecutor wants to avoid tainting the jury pool, to ensure that a fair trial is had. Keep in mind that the prosecutor is a member of the executive branch of state government; he or she decides when to start a criminal case; he or she serves the public and must protect the rights of the accused.

Onward: there are three basic stages for us to be concerned with: PRE-TRIAL, TRIAL, and POST-TRIAL.

During pretrial, you will cover the arraignment, preliminary hearing, grand jury action, and jury selection. Not all with the same level of urgency, but you should keep tabs.

During arraignment, two things happen: the defendant hears the charges against them, and enters a plea - oh, and an attorney is assigned to them if they can't afford one. You should know this language, taken from the "Miranda" warnings, from all those episodes of Law and Order you've watched.

If it's a felony (more serious) case, the court will set bail. Only those felonies that are very serious in the eyes of the DA head down the road. Defendants can plead guilty, not guilty, no contest, or guilty by reason of mental disease or defect (check to see if your state allows this).

If a not guilty plea happens, you head for a preliminary hearing. In your arraignment story, you'll include: the formal charge, the plea, bail (is it higher or lower than requested), behavior of the defendants, remarks by the prosecutor, defense lawyer, and the judge. Here's an example of an arraignment story.

Here, the court determines if there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime. Is there enough evidence to send the case to the grand jury? If not, the judge will dismiss.

All along, the two sides will plea bargain - reducing the severity of the charges, often in exchange for key information. Here, defense lawyers do all that they can to lessen the possible penalty. First-time offenders usually will inspire the prosecutor to bite on community service, etc.

But, if after all of this, the DA thinks a serious crime has been committed by a dangerous person, it's off to the grand jury.

More on that in part 2.