Criminal Process

3 Credit Hours

This course is taught in the Executive Program only This course explores in detail the manner in which a formal criminal proceeding is initiated and processed by our court system. Topics include arraignment and preliminary hearings, commitment or release on bail or personal recognizance, the grand jury, prosecutorial discretion, discovery and disclosure requirements, competence to stand trial, plea bargaining, right to a speedy trial, jury selection, joinder and severance of charges and/or defendants, management of jury deliberations, sentencing, and appeals. In order to provide a deeper understanding of these criminal proceedings, the course will explore their historical and theoretical bases, as well as the current Supreme Court jurisprudence that is shaping them.