Common Law Criminal Procedures
Nearly every country has established one of the two major world legal systems: civil law and common law. Common law is practiced in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Criminal procedure is significantly different in common law systems than in civil law systems.
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Prosecution
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Although a criminal defense lawyer is obligated to advocate the defendant's interests, a prosecutor is obligated to seek justice even if it means refusing to charge or convict a defendant. Because of this, the decision of whether to prosecute rests solely with the prosecutor. Although most prosecutions are commenced in response to an arrest by the police of the filing of a criminal complaint by the police of a private citizen, a prosecutor has the authority to initiate prosecution unilaterally.
Bail
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Bail is a sum of money that the defendant must pay to remain free between the bail hearing and the conclusion of the trial. The purpose of bail is to give the defendant a motive to show up at trial (in order to get the bail money back). Judges can set bail higher or lower depending on their estimate of how likely the defendant is to show up at trial. In many cases, bail is denied.
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Plea Bargaining
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A plea bargain is a written agreement in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge, in exchange for which the prosecutor will recommend to the judge that the original charges be dropped and that a previously agreed upon sentence be imposed. The judge does not have to accept the prosecutor's recommendations. Prosecutors are willing to plea bargain when they face busy trial dockets, and when the available evidence raises doubts about whether the defendant will be eventually convicted.
Trial Practice
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Trials in common law countries are adversarial, meaning that the prosecution and the defense initiate almost all action while judges are relatively passive, acting as referees. For example, if the prosecution attempts to admit evidence that should be excluded under the rules of evidence, the evidence will normally be admitted anyway unless the defense objects to its admission. In this case, a convicted defendant may appeal on the basis that he received "ineffective assistance of counsel". Although every criminal defendant is entitled to demand to be tried by a jury, if no demand for a jury trial is made then the judge will determine guilt or innocence.
Sentencing
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Regardless of whether or not a jury is empaneled, the judge will determine the sentence (within statutorily defined ranges) if the defendant is convicted. The defendant is entitled to present evidence, such as good prior behavior or mitigating circumstances, that may convince the judge to imposed a lighter sentence.
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