Description of the Pretrial Process Essay

Introduction

Criminal justice system is a process through which offenders are punished by law of a certain jurisdiction. Before one is accused of committing a crime, he must have been proven guilty. Criminal justice system has three arms they are, police, courts and correction department. This paper, guided by headings, will discuss and explain the pretrial process.

Pretrial Detention

This is when a suspect is kept in custody of government facility, mostly in jail, waiting for legal proceeding. During this period the person is still innocent in the eyes of the law. He has not yet been proved guilty of the offence charged. A suspect remains in detention when he has been denied a bail or when one is not able to raise the bail amount set. During this period the suspect has the right to access the library to research his case and can see his attorney in private. When one is denied a bail, his attorney can object that decision and the case looked into again. Detention is done for the interest of the court if there is fear that a suspect might forfeit the case proceedings or releasing him will tamper with the proceedings of the case or is a threat to his or others safety (Smith, 2005).

Bail

A bail is a guarantee given to a court to temporary release an arrested or an accused person whom case can merit incarceration between the time of arrest and trial. It involves the court asking for a pledge of a certain asset mostly money to release an arrested person on condition that he will abide to set conditions. The in trial and remain within a certain jurisdiction during the process of trial.

Failure to abide to for payment of the whole amount of bail to the court. The arrested person is supposed to pay the bail amount however in cases where he cannot raise the bail amount, then a third party in form of a friend or a can be involved. The amount of bail is determined according to the case at hand thus can vary from few coins to large sums of money (Maclean, 2008).

Right to preliminary examination

This is the first stage in a case where the prosecutor is mandated to show cause and reasons why the case should continue for trial. In this case the prosecutor is giving the evidence collected that can either prove that a crime was committed or a law was broken. Secondly it shows that there is at least probable cause to show that the accused committed a crime. The prosecutor does not have to give a lot of details but give adequate information that can make the judge believe that the case can proceed. This is a constitutional right to a suspect and should be followed to the latter.

Grand jury

Grand jury is an examination of a civil case by of people with the aim of identifying whether there is enough evidence to support a case in court. They collect information and evidence of a case and weigh the options of the quality and sustainability of a case in court. After the jury has established that the suspect have a case to answer, they offer a written indictment, advising the court of their findings. It is usually composed of 16-20 people although the number can vary depending with the case at hand. The main role of grand jury is to advise prosecutorial system to ensure that they prosecute a case that has evidence that can stand trial.

In some may happen without the knowledge of a suspect that something is being investigated and thus it may be the same person who gives evidence in the jury. After wards the evidence is used against him (Hall, 2008)