The Judicial Process
After an Arrest
In the event that the suspect flees to another state, that person can be extradited back to state where the crime was committed, inside the United States. You may need to research your state's laws on extradition.
In most states, there will be a resource, available to the public, to use to find out the status of a case and its current location in the judicial process. For example in Oklahoma, we were informed of the Oklahoma State Court Network which had a very helpful website: OSCN. There may also be inmate tracking tools on the web so that you can find out the status of the accused. The best place to look or ask about this is with the Police Clerk at the jail or your Victims Advocate.
In the days that follow the arrest, the accused is brought before to a judge simply to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. This is known as an arraignment.
In most states, the next step in the process is the Preliminary Hearing.
This is an example of Wisconsin's judicial process flow, so things may work differently where you are, but we found the process in Oklahoma to be very similar. One important question to ask about is the accused's ability to Plea Bargain. When he or she is able to do so, what is the likelihood that the DA will accept a plea bargain, and/or what type of plea bargain would they find acceptable. The most important thing is to find out whether or not, in your state, the prosecuting attorney consults with the family before accepting a plea bargain. Let them know that you want to have your say, even if they are not required to take it into consideration.
Preliminary Hearing
The preliminary hearing is the first step in the legal process after an arrest. This is where the prosecuting attorney will present his evidence to a judge and the defense attorney will attempt to portray the evidence as false, inadequate, or inadmissible and to have all charges dropped and ultimately the case thrown out and the accused free to go. In order for the defendant to be bound by the Judge on the charges presented to him/her, the Prosecuting Attorney's main job at this point is to present enough evidence to convince the Judge that there was indeed a crime committed and that the person being held is responsible for that crime.
This is a difficult hearing to attend, in that the defendant is typically present. There will be cross-examinations of witnesses and potentially, there may be graphic photos and/or evidence of the event.
In the event that the defendant is bound to the charges, the case will then move on to a Motion Hearing.
If there is not enough evidence to indicate the individual being held is responsible, or that an actual crime was committed, the defendant may be released.
Motion Hearing
The Motion Hearing is where any objections that were made by the Defense Attorney or the Prosecuting Attorney during the Preliminary Hearing is presented to the Motion Hearing Judge for final determination as to whether or not the objections will be upheld or denied. At this point, the case may either move forward to a Jury Trial, or sent back to the Preliminary Hearing. It is unlikely that the case will not move forward at this point, but it is a real possibility.
Jury Trial
The trial will expose most all evidence garnered against the defendant. The prosecution first presents their case against the defendant and then the defense puts up whatever evidence they have in their client's defense. All witnesses are subject to cross examination by the prosecutor and the defense attorney. In this process, all statements and evidence (including the medical examiners report), will be published to the jury and all of those in attendance.
At the trial, a family member will most likely be needed to identify the victim. This is most often done by using a recent photograph that portrays him or her as they were in life. In cases where this is not available, they may use a post-mortem photo for someone in the family to use to identify them.
In some cases, family members under subpoena for the jury trial, may not be able to observe the trial until after their release from the subpoena. This is a process known as sequestration.
Once all evidence is presented and all arguments are made, the jury will decide on the guilt or innocence of the defendant using the Reasonable Doubt Standard.