The legal system in the US is broadly divided into civil and criminal laws. Civil laws pertain to issues such as family laws, personal injury laws, immigration laws, etc. Criminal laws deal with crimes such as robbery, murder, kidnapping, treason, etc.
A civil lawsuit is filed by one individual against another and is tried in front of a judge in a civil court. On the other hand, crime is considered an act against the state. It is tried in the criminal court in front of a jury presided over by a judge.
The accused in both civil and criminal cases is called the defendant and the person who has filed the case is known as the plaintiff. The defendant and plaintiff are represented by their lawyers who represent the best interests of their clients.
In a criminal case, the public prosecutor represents the state and tries to prove that the accused is guilty of the crime. The accused is represented by a criminal lawyer. In a criminal case the “burden of proof” lies with the prosecution. In other words, the public prosecutor needs to prove the accused guilty without any reasonable doubt. This implies that the evidence provided by the prosecution must completely prove that s/he is guilty of the crime. The public prosecutor is assisted by the police and other local authorities who collect evidence and find witnesses who will help prove the guilt of the defendant.
The criminal lawyer does not have to prove the innocence of the defendant. However, he needs to raise doubt in the minds of the jury regarding their theory. Criminal lawyers also collect evidence and summon witnesses who can create anomalies in the theory of the prosecution. Crimes are of different types and there are specific criminal lawyers who represent clients. For instance, there are murder lawyers, rape lawyers, kidnapping lawyers, and more. These lawyers specialize in a specific type of crime and try to prove the innocence of their clients.
The verdict of guilty or not guilty is given by the jury after listening to the public prosecutor and the criminal lawyer. All the members of the jury are required to reach a common conclusion regarding the guilt of the defendant. Even if one of the members of the jury is not convinced of the guilt of the defendant, s/he may be declared not guilty.
The US legal system has severe penalties for an individual guilty of committing a crime. The purpose of these punitive actions against a criminal is to give an indication to the citizens of the country of what the consequences of committing such crimes are so that they refrain from committing them.
The criminal law system in the US is developed to prevent criminal activities in the state and maintain law and order. This is the reason that criminals are dealt with quite severely.
Ward K Johnson Law Firm is a leading law firm in the US with experienced lawyers. Our team of criminal lawyers specializes in laws such as murder laws, rape laws, treason laws, burglary laws, and more. In case you are facing criminal charges for any type of crime, consult our lawyers!