Criminal Law 101
Criminal Law 101:
The Charges: Criminal charges come in three basic varieties of increasing seriousness: Summary, Misdemeanor and Felony.
The Players: There are five main players in a criminal case: The People AKA the State (represented by the District Attorney); the enforcement arm of the State (represented by the police officer); the Court (represented by the Judge); the person charged with a crime (the Defendant) and witnesses.
The Process: Criminal cases proceed in well defined basic steps starting with the filing of a criminal complaint or citation by the police officer. These steps include Preliminary Hearing, Arraignment, Pretrial Conference, Trial and Sentencing.
After arrest and the filing of a criminal complaint or citation, a Preliminary Hearing is held in front of District Justice. At the Preliminary Hearing, the District Justice determines if there is enough evidence to charge the defendant with each crime identified in the criminal complaint. The burden on the State at a Preliminary Hearing is to show that it has some evidence for each element of each crime charged or else the charge is dismissed. This burden is relatively light and most times the State can prove it has some evidence to support each element of its case. However, sometimes the State has failed to make out an element of the case and the charge can be dismissed. Many times a deal can be made with the police officer or Assistant District Attorney to have some charges dropped in exchange for pleading to a lesser charge. Please note that if you are charged with only Summary offenses, then there is no Preliminary Hearing and you proceed directly to Trial in front of the Magistrate.
After the Preliminary Hearing, a defendant is arraigned. Arraignment is the process in which a defendant is formally charged by the District Attorney. The case is then handed over to the District Attorney for criminal prosecution. Also, the defendant is notified of the identity of the judge assigned to the case and the date for a pre-trial conference.
At the Pre-Trial Conference, the Defendant and counsel meet with the district attorney and judge’s secretary to obtain the trial date. Typically, Defendant’s attorney and the Assistant District Attorney discuss the issues in the case and possible plea agreements.
Trial is the last main stage of a criminal case. A Defendant has the right to a jury trial (i.e. the jury determines guilt or innocence), but can also request a trial where a judge makes this determination. At trial the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crimes charged. The Defendant can decide to plead guilty or negotiate a plea agreement at this stage.
Sentencing takes place after a defendant is found guilty of or pleads guilty to a criminal charge. Sentencing can occur immediately after trial or at a later date. The sentence that a defendant receives can include jail time, probation, intermediate punishment (i.e. time spent in home detention or a halfway house), community services and fines.
NOTE: This description is a basic outline of the criminal legal process and does not include other steps and issues including filing motions and filing appeals. Also, this description is of the Allegheny County process and the process in other counties may differ. Please note that the information on this page is not meant to be legal advice but purely for informational purposes only.
