The History of Criminal Trial Proceedings
Modern criminal trial proceedings evolved through the long history of Western culture, from Biblical underpinnings through British common law. Some elements of criminal procedure, such as basic due process, have been in existence since the earliest reported instances of crime. Other criminal procedural safeguards, such as the right to publicly appointed criminal defense counsel, have developed only through modern case law.
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Beginnings in Genesis
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The Book of Genesis reports that the first crime as Adam and Eve's violation of habitation rules in the Garden of Eden. They were summarily banished from the premises. No criminal trial proceedings were required because the Omniscient Judge had full knowledge of all relevant facts. The next reported criminal act is the murder of Abel by Cain. In this instance, the Omniscient Judge held an inquiry as to what had happened to Abel. Disbelieving Cain's testimony, the Judge sentenced Cain to wander the Earth forever. Despite the summary nature of Cain's murder trial, it demonstrates the basic elements of modern constitutional due process: notice and opportunity to be heard.
The Old Testament
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After the murder of Abel, responsibility for identifying criminals and imposing punishments passed to humankind. The Old Testament Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy codify specific criminal acts and begin to outline procedures for determining guilt or innocence and imposing punishment. The Book of Numbers requires that Moses establish cities of refuge for persons awaiting trial on charges of manslaughter. These are the functional equivalent of today's bail laws. Numbers also states that persons accused of murder will stand before the congregation to be judged--an early reference to the criminal proceeding of trial by jury.
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Criminal Proceedings in Ancient Greece and Rome
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Criminal charges in ancient Greece could be brought by any citizen. Defendants were tried before huge "people's courts" with hundreds of jurors to help dissuade bribery, and better reflect the general will of the people. Roman criminal procedure also relied on citizen prosecutors who tried cases before professional legal magistrates. However, the transparency of Greek public trials gave way to the whims of Roman party politics, which varied dramatically under different Emperors. Beginning in the fifth century B.C., Roman authorities required that law be written down and distributed throughout the Empire so that magistrates would not act arbitrarily--the first organized attempt to establish the rule of precedent which controls modern criminal law proceedings.
British Common Law
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British common law was influenced in part by Roman law but otherwise evolved as a balance in rights and interests between subjects and the Crown. Other influences included the indigenous laws of various tribes of the British Isles, and the laws of the Church, France and Spain. Key early developments include establishment of Crown prosecutors and the refinement of the requirement of Notice and Hearing to include specific indictments, the right to a jury of one's peers, and rights of defense and appeal.
Criminal Law in the American Colonies
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Criminal law in colonial America evolved at the same time that the new notion of human rights was emerging in Europe and around the world. Criminal trials shifted from exercises to keep the public peace into fact-finding missions to determine individual guilt or innocence. As a result, the U.S. Constitution embodied substantive protections for elements of criminal proceedings such as the guarantee of bail, of the right of defense including the process of compelling witness testimony by subpoena, of the right against self-incrimination, the right to speedy trial and the right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures.
American Case Law and Criminal Proceedings
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From the time of the Revolution to the present day, case law decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have refined and clarified the parameters of Constitutional criminal procedure. The right to a jury of one's peers now includes safeguards against gender, racial or religious bias. The right to defense includes representation by legal counsel if desired, including appointment of a public defender if the accused cannot afford private counsel. American criminal procedure developed rules to preclude admission of hearsay--rumor--evidence and character evidence, whereas British criminal courts still allow this evidence. The elaborate British common law system of precise indictments has been abandoned in the United States and significantly diminished in England as well.
Recent History
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Twentieth-century American criminal procedure history has included the application of U.S. Constitutional safeguards to state-court proceedings, and the notable holding of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) requiring that law enforcement officials warn criminal defendants of their rights to remain silent and to consult with an attorney. Any confessions obtained without these warnings having issued are inadmissible at trial.
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- Photo Credit Cindy Hill
