thecriminalcourtsystem

thecriminalcourtsystem内容摘要：

n a certain date to give evidence.  Failure of a witness to appear can result in a contempt of court charge for obstructing the course of justice and disobeying the court’s authority.  Committing perjury, knowingly making false statements in court while giving evidence, is a serious offence. The maximum penalty is 14 years in jail. The Jury  The jury is a group of 12 people who decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.  They are chosen by the crown and defence from a pool of ordinary citizens.  They listen to the trial, consider all the evidence and follow the judge’s instructions about the law.  They withdraw to the jury room to deliberate, consider the evidence and decide guilt or innocence.  Their decision must be unanimous!! The Role of The Jury  Comes from the French word “jurer”, which means to swear an oath.  Eligible jurors are 18 years old, Canadian citizens, and a resident of the province for at least one year.  Publicly elected politicians, lawyers, prison guards, police officers and probation officers cannot serve as jurors.  People can be exempt from jury duty for health and religious reasons, financial hardship or if they have served on a jury in the past 2 years.  If you wish to be excused from the jury you can apply to the sheriff. Jury Selection  Selected at random from electoral polling lists.  A group of potential jurors is called a jury panel. The accused first es before a judge and jury panel during the arraignment, the first stage of a criminal trial in which the court clerk reads the charge and the defendant enters a plea.  If the plea is not guilty, the crown and defence will begin to select jurors from the panel under the supervision of the judge.  The process involves six steps: 1. People’s names are randomly selected and read aloud to the court. 2. The person whose name has been chosen goes to the front of the court and faces the accused. 3. Both the Crown and the defence can object to a potential juror by challenging the individual. 4. A challenge for cause, the right of the Crown or defence to exclude someone from a jury for a particular reason, can be used if they feel that the potential juror has already formed an opinion, cannot physically perform their duties or has been convicted of a serious offence. Each side has unlimited challenges for cause. 5. After a juror is accepted as suitable and impartial, the Crown or defence can still reject the juror by using a preemptory challenge, the right of the Crown or defence to exclude someone from a jury without providing a reason. 20 challenges for serious cases, 12 if the accused can be sentenced to more than five years and 4 if the sentence is less than five years. 6. Selection process is plete and the jurors take the juror’s oath. “I swear to well and truly try and true Deliverance make between our sovereign the Queen and the accused at the bar, whom I have in charge, and a true verdict give, according to the evidence, so help me God.” The Criminal Trial Process  Burden of proof refers to the Crown’s obligation to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not up t。