The criminal justice system is complicated when you first start to look at it. Eventually, you will see the order of everything but it can take time to do this. When you are facing your first criminal case, you won’t have time to try to figure everything out. You will need someone on your side who can help walk you through everything.
One of the first segments of the criminal justice system that you will have to deal with is law enforcement. These are the detectives and police officers who will investigate criminal complaints or keep an eye on the streets to determine if there is anything amiss going on.
Another segment of the criminal justice system that you will likely encounter is the court system. This is often the most difficult to decipher because there are many different aspects of it that you might have to face. For example, you will have to go through an arraignment, pretrial hearings, a trial and a sentencing hearing for some criminal cases.
The third component is the correctional system. This doesn’t mean only the prison system. Instead, it also includes community corrections offices that oversee the probation and parole programs for the area. Programs like drug court also go through this department.
No matter what type of criminal charge you are facing, from petty theft to murder, you have a right to present a defense. Make sure that you take this seriously because trying to ignore the charges against you can result in undesirable outcomes. One of the best things that you can do is to work hard on your defense strategy to ensure it addresses the important points.
Source: FindLaw, “How Does the Criminal Justice System Work?,” accessed March 23, 2018
