Trials, Criminal

In the U.S. criminal justice system, the trial plays an integral role by deciding on the guilt of a given defendant. Although most prosecutions are in fact resolved through the plea-bargaining process, the trial remains a vital and central part of the system. The trial process has been refined over the years in an effort to exact unbiased justice by using an adversarial system. The prosecution and the defendant are pitted against each other to prove to an unbiased group of citizens the truth of the matter at hand.

Before a criminal case comes to trial, certain procedures must be undertaken. Initially, the government charges the defendant with a crime. On the federal level and in many states, charging a defendant includes receiving a grand jury ...