Types of criminal trials

The trial of an accused as per the Offence committed by him is divided into five parts. Complaints to Magistrate 2.

Sessions Trial 3. Warrant Trial 4. Summons Trial 5. Summary Trial. The Procedure for conducting trial when a private Complaint is made to the Magistrate is discussed under Sections to of the Cr PC. The following discussion and ultimate conclusion are relevant which reads as under:. It is well settled that when a Magistrate receives a complaint, he is not bound to take cognizance if the facts alleged in the complaint, disclose the commission of an offence.

If on a reading of the complaint he finds that the allegations therein disclose a cognizable offence and the forwarding of the complaint to the police for investigation under Section 3 will be conducive to justice and save the valuable time of the Magistrate from being wasted in enquiring into a matter which was primarily the duty of the police to investigate, he will be justified in adopting that course as an alternative to taking cognizance of the offence, himself.

The act classifies certain categories of cases, which are triable by the Sessions Judge. In compliance with S. Also for an offence to be tried by the Court of Sessions, the tenure of punishment shall be more than seven years of imprisonment or Life imprisonment or Death.

All sexual offences against Women and Children are tried by the Sessions Court. Offences punishable for a tenure of more than 2 years of Imprisonment or more are tried as warrant cases.

Any offences wherein the tenure of punishment does not exceed two years shall be categorized as summons cases.

Trial of cases by summons procedure is provided in Chapter XX of the Code from sections to The Procedure for trial of a Summary triable case is similar to that of a warrant and summons case. However, the difference is that the evidence in such trials is not discussed exhaustively and they are majorly petty offences.

No sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding three months shall be passed in the case of any conviction under this Chapter. Legitimate evidence may help convict a suspect in no time. The court recognizes these five types of evidence, as discussed in this piece.

Real evidence Real evidence is any material that was used or present in the crime scene at the time of the crime. The material or item will be presented in court as real evidence. These materials may include a gun, bloodied clothing, money marked by anti-theft coloring, a knife, and a distorted car, among others. Documentary evidence Documentary evidence may also be presented as part of real evidence and is often the most common in criminal cases. Generally, this is any evidence that builds up the documentation of the events leading to the crime often presented during trials.

For instance, if your criminal defense attorney in Cleveland presents a case of breach of contract, acceptable documentary evidence would be the actual contract that was violated. Demonstrative evidence In addition to testimonies, demonstrative evidence backs it up to prove the case right or wrong. Testimonial evidence Often viewed as the simplest form of evidence presentation, testimonial evidence accepts statements made by witnesses ready to reveal what they saw before, during, or after the crime.

Digital evidence Evidence retrieved from any kind of digital file or electronic source qualifies to be classified under digital evidence. How do I Pay My Ticket. Failure to Appear in Court. Failure to Pay a Court-Ordered Fine. What is Small Claims Court?

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Judicial Mentor Program. Community Outreach. Diversity Outreach. Volunteers, Interns, Externs. Temporary Judge Program. About the Court. Your Day in Court. Criminal Home. What are the different types of hearings or trials? Hearing or Trial Type What Happens During the Hearing or Trial Arraignment Hearing During an arraignment hearing you: Have your first court appearance Are advised of constitutional rights Are appointed an attorney if unable to afford one Are advised of the nature of the charges against you Enter a guilty , not guilty or no contest plea May be released on your own recognizance or the judge sets bail and you are remanded to the custody of the Sheriff If you are charged with a misdemeanor and plead not guilty to the charges, you must be brought to trial with 30 days of being arraigned if you are in custody, and 45 days if you are on bail or your own recognizance.

Pretrial Hearing During a pretrial hearing: Discovery is exchanged between prosecution and defense Motions may be made to set aside the complaint, to dismiss the case, to suppress evidence, etc. You may change plea to guilty or no contest Preliminary Hearing During a preliminary hearing, a determination is made if there is sufficient evidence the defendant committed the alleged felony offense. Preliminary hearings are held for felony cases. Jury Trial The jury trial includes: Jury selection by the attorneys during the trial Evidence is presented Decision of guilty or not guilty at the end of the trial made by the jury If the jury finds you are not guilty you: Are released Cannot be retried for the same crime If the jury finds you are guilty: The case may be continued for sentencing You may be sentenced immediately Court Trial You may agree to proceed with a court trial instead of a jury trial.

During a court trial the judge: Hears the evidence and arguments Decides if the defendant is guilty or not guilty Court trials may also be called bench trials Sentencing Hearing A judge will decide your penalty or punishment after hearing from your attorney and the district attorney on their ideas of what should be your sentence. Your sentence can include: Payment of a fine Time in county jail Time in state prison Restitution Probation Alternative sentencing Post Sentence or Probation Violation Hearing You will be told of any modifications or changes to Court orders made after you have been sentenced.

What do I do when I come to court? What do I bring to court? How long should I plan to be in court?