Individual project criminal Justice - Essay Example

Contact is established when an individual comes in contact with a member of law enforcement, generally the police. The individual is, by virtue of the legal construct embedded in the Constitution, presumed innocent of wrongdoing until evidence is given that removes all reasonable doubt as to guilt. Hence, certain conduct is forbidden, including searches of person or property without cause. Although exceptions apply, in general law enforcement must have probable cause to believe that a crime has been (or is being) committed, that the individual has evidence of that crime upon his or her person or property, and that such evidence will show the individual guilty of that crime.

Oftentimes, this requires a warrant, sworn to by a member of law enforcement before a member of the judiciary. The next two steps, investigation and arrest, are noted as occasionally reversing places (i.e. an arrest is made and then the investigation occurs). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th edition, 2003) defines the arrest as the "seizure and detention of a person, either to bring him before a court body or official, or to otherwise secure the administration of the law." Reasonable and justifiable force and restraint are permitted during the arrest; anyone taking such actions in a criminal matter may, however, be forced to defend said actions before the court.

Investigation, on the other hand, is the determination and procurement of evidence, including formal identification of the suspect, the cautioning of the suspect prior to questioning as to the rights he or she maintains under law, and the documentation of all evidence and cause. Once complete, the results are released for trial of the accused. The trial phase, or bringing of evidence against one accused of a crime, can be further subdivided into multiple stages. In totality, however, it is the phase in which the accused is permitted to know the evidence collected against him or her, is allowed to cross-examine witnesses that testify against him or her, and is allowed to mount a personal defense against the crime.

Depending upon locale, jurisdiction and inclination of the attorneys involved in the case, this presentation may or may not be made before a jury, although the right to trial by jury is available to the accused should he or she desire. Following the trial, the accused is either acquitted or convicted of the crime(s); if convicted, a judge pronounces sentence upon him or her. The accused has the right, in certain cases, to mount an appeal for judicial review, either of the sentence given or of the trial.

Although most such appeals derive from procedural errors, some few come from the nature of the sentence imposed (i.e. capital punishment sentences are almost invariably remanded for appellate review).EvidenceEvidence is the sum of the matters of fact that a party to a lawsuit offers to prove or disprove an issue in the case; in general, it may be either direct or circumstantial. If direct, it directly indicates the presence of the accused or the action committed; if circumstantial, it relates a portion of the circumstances in which the crime took place and indicates by its totality that the accused committed the crime.

However, evidence can also be divided into seven types under the common law: 1) testimony, 2) documentary, 3) physical, 4) exculpatory, 5) scientific,