Processes of Law

Lesson Overview

• Students Will Be Able To:
oSequentially order steps of the criminal and civil law processes.
oIdentify the roles of people in the civil law
process.
oIdentify why someone would choose to
waive the right to a jury trial.
oCompare and contrast the processes of
criminal and civil law.
• Vocabulary:
oArraignment, Bench Trial, Due Process,
Grand Jury, Hung Jury, Indict, Miranda
Warning, Waive

Essential Question- What are the processes of criminal and civil law?

Why do you
think the
Founding
Fathers
(Framers) put
"Due Process"
in the
Constitution?

The Criminal Justice Process Begins

• The US Constitution has multiple (many) protections for people accused of crimes
• Due Process- the requirement that the government must follow established laws before it deprives (takes away) a person's rights
• The Miranda Warning- a set of legal rights that must be stated to a person upon placing them under arrest
o Right to Remain Silent
o Right to an attorney

The Criminal Justice System in Court

• These are the major steps in a criminal court steps in Pennsylvania

o Indictment
 An Indictment- is when the court examines the initial evidence against the accused and decides if there is enough evidence to formally accuse them of a crime
 This decision can be made by a judge or a Grand Jury- jury of citizens who evaluate the evidence and decide whether to formally accuse/charge someone with a crime
o Arraignment
 An Arraignment- is a court hearing where the accused person hears the charges and is asked to plead not guilty or guilty
 At this point they would also be considered a Defendant
o Plea
 A defendant may choose to plead guilty and settle the case outside of a trial
 These types of pleas usually involve lighter sentences
 They can also choose to plead not guilty, and it moves onto a trial

Why do you
think there
are different
steps in this
process?
What do
they all
mean for the
defendant?

​

o Trial
 If the defendant pleads not guilty the next step/phase is the trial
 The Prosecution and the Defense gather evidence to support their cases
 In a jury trial, the jury decides whether the defendant is guilty or innocent and the judge decides the sentence
 A defendant can Waive- or give up their right to a jury trial. In which case the judge will be the one deciding the verdict

Civil Cases Before the Trial

• These cases do not begin with an arrest but
with a complaint filed in court (This is suing
either someone or a group)
• The plaintiff files the complaint and normally
hires an attorney that might also specialize in
that area (Workplace Injury, Malpractice,
etc...)
• They may be seeking money (damages) for the issue or asking the court to make sure the
conduct/injustice is stopped
• The defendant receives the complaint and
answers it court, from here it can go to a trial,
or the sides can settle

Jury Trial versus a Bench Trial

• Pennsylvania protects the right to a jury trial in a civil case, states are not required to do this
• A Bench Trial- is a trial without a jury, where the
judge makes the decision
o A defendant can request this as opposed to a jury trial
• In criminal cases a jury (usually 12 people) must
reach a unanimous verdict
• In a civil trial there needs to be a supermajority
(5/6 of the jury) to reach a decision
• Hung Jury- this is where the jury cannot reach a
verdict and the judge can either conduct a new
trial with a different jury or drop the charges

Essential Question- What are the processes of criminal and civil law?

• Officers must inform arrested people of their right to remain silent and their right to an attorney.

• Processes of criminal and civil law include multiple steps before a trial.

• One can waive the right to a jury trial.