Some Potential Outcomes of a Criminal Cases

Criminal law is a branch of law which provides rules to control the crime against the public. The term ‘criminal law’ is sometimes stated as the ‘penal law’ which shows the frame work of punishment for committing an offense against the pubic authority. However, according to literature, criminal law can be defined as the body of statutory and common law that deals with the crime and the legal punishment of criminal offense. Therefore, the most significant character of the criminal law is the availability of a punishment for any offense.

In general, every act against the public interest is considered a crime and the government of the country takes the part of prosecution against such offense. For example, murder is covered under the criminal law as it is an offense committed against the public interest.

This branch of criminal law can be explained under two groups as ‘substantive law’ and the ‘procedural law’.

Generally, substantive criminal law would be a statutory or written law which defines the particular crimes. In the U.S, substantive criminal law had been originated from a part of the common law which was later codified in federal and state statutes. However, Substantive criminal law mainly deals with the definitions of offenses which are covered by the penal code. It speaks of the criminal offenses and relevant punishments due to be issued upon the conviction.

Procedural criminal law on the other hand establishes the set of rules for prosecution. It provides the process which the case must go through. Hence, the procedural criminal law is mainly concerned of the enforcement of the substantive criminal law. Sanction is the significant feature of criminal law and it provides a warning for the society about the consequences of committing a criminal offence. However, in criminal law, it is well recognized principle worldwide that the conviction can only be obtained when the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused indeed committed the particular crime.

In practice, a prosecuting counsel usually represents the aggrieved party on behalf of the government by bringing a case against an accused. In every nation, commission of crime is considered as a violation of public interest and also an offense against the state. Therefore, the state representation is more important to control the crime and to ensure the public security. However, all the crimes are punishable by the sanction such as fine and imprisonment. But every charge for a criminal offense may not lead to a conviction. The outcome of a criminal case would depend on the crime charged, strength of the evidence and the goals and strategy of the prosecution and the defense.

Finally, some potential outcomes of a criminal case can be as follows,

* Law enforcement authority may fail to trace the suspect or investigation may end with no arrest.

* Suspected person is arrested and charged with a particular offense or offenses. When the accused is brought in to the court he may plea the guilty for offense.

* Accused person is brought to court and would plea the non guilty for the offense. Following a trial, he may be found not guilty for the offense and accordingly acquitted by a jury.

* Accused is convicted for the particular offence or offences and sentenced with fine or imprisonment.

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