The Trial Process Of A Criminal Case

What happens if a person is accused of a crime? Will he be given a chance in court to prove his innocence in court (the answer is yes)? What happens in court? In this article, we will briefly deal with the last question i.e. looking at the trial process of a person who is accused of a crime (the accused) in court. 

Pre Trial

The accused will be brought to either the Sessions, Magistrate, or High Court. The court will then read out the charge (i.e. what wrong he has committed, where and when it was committed, and what happens if he is found guilty of it – whether he will be fined, jailed, etc.) to him. From here out, there are two possible scenarios.

A- If the accused pleads guilty

If the accused pleads guilty (and it has to be done voluntarily i.e. not coerced into doing so and provided that he understands the consequences of him pleading guilty), he will then be convicted and sentenced according to the law. The court will also consider any mitigating factors (that is either pleaded by the lawyer representing the accused/ the accused himself) that might help reduce the accused sentence.

If the accused refuses to plead, does not plead, claims trial (i.e. pleading not guilty)

In such a situation, a pre-trial conference will commence. In the pre-trial, both parties (i.e. the lawyers representing the accused and the prosecution) will discuss all matters relating to the case to ensure that the case (if possible) be disposed of expeditiously. Matters that are discussed, for example, are:

1. The factual and legal issues of the case and what is the parties’ position in relation to those issues;
2. The preparation of documents and all evidence relating to the case; and
3. Whether the accused chooses to make a plea bargaining application with the court. 

Once this is sorted, both parties will then enter a process called case management, where the court will consolidate all matters that were discussed during the pre-trial conference and set a date for the commencement of the trial.

Trial

If the accused made a plea bargaining application, the courts will then examine whether the application was made voluntarily by the accused. If the court is satisfied that the application is made voluntarily, the court will then sentence the accused accordingly. 

If the accused did not make a plea bargaining application, the case will then be heard in the following manner:

1. The prosecutor will open his case. This includes:
   1. Producing any witnesses and examining them; and/ or 
   2. Producing any evidence to support the charge against the accused.
2. The accused lawyer will then be given a chance to cross-examine the witnesses or any evidence that was put forth by the prosecutor.
3. The prosecutor will then be allowed to re-examine his own witnesses or the evidence that was put forth by him. 
4. Once this is done, the court will then determine if the prosecution has proven his case:
   1. If the court thinks that the prosecution has no prima facie case (not proven his case) against the accused, the accused will be acquitted; or
   2. If there is a prima facie case against the accused, the accused will then be called to enter his defense. 
5. When the court calls the accused to enter his defense, he will be given 3 options:
   1. He can choose to give sworn evidence in court (for this article’s purposes, we will only be focusing only on this option);
   2. He can choose to give unsworn evidence from the dock; or 
   3. He can remain silent. 
6. If he chooses to give sworn evidence, he will be allowed to: 
   1. Produce his own witnesses and evidence; and 
   2. Recall and cross-examine any witnesses that are still in the court’s precincts.
7. The prosecution will then be allowed to cross-examine or re-examine the witnesses. 
8. If the accused produces witnesses or evidence, both parties will be asked to make a closing statement to justify their stance (i.e. justifying as to whether the accused has committed a crime vice versa).
9. Lastly, the court will consider all the evidence that was presented and will determine if the prosecution has proven his case beyond reasonable doubt (i.e. there are no other possible explanations other than the accused has committed a crime):
   1. If the prosecution has proven his case beyond a reasonable doubt, the court will find the accused guilty and proceed to sentence and convict him according to the law.
   2. If the court finds otherwise, the court will then acquit the accused. 

Post Trial

If the accused or prosecution is not satisfied with the decision given, both may elect to appeal. However, not all matters can be appealed. We will discuss this in another article.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.

For further inquiries, please email us at general@mathews.my.