A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority (usually a
public prosecutor or the
police) asserting that somebody has committed a
crime. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can take several forms, including:
*
complaint
In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
*
information
*
indictment
*
citation
A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
*
traffic ticket
The charging document is what generally starts a criminal case in
court. But the procedure by which somebody is charged with a crime and what happens when somebody has been charged varies from country to country and even, within a country, from state to state.
Before a person is found guilty of a crime, a criminal charge must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Punishment
There can be multiple punishments due to certain criminal charges. Minor criminal charges such as
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
s, tickets, and infractions have less harsh punishments. The judge usually sentences the person accused of committing the charges right after the hearing. The punishments generally include fines, suspension, probation, a small amount of jail time, or alcohol and drug classes. If the criminal charges are considered more serious like a
felony, then there is a lengthier process for determining the punishment. Felonies include the most serious crimes such as
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
and
treason. In addition to the trial that decides innocence or guilt, there is a separate trial (after one is
convicted) that determines the punishment(s) for the criminal charges committed.
Rights when facing criminal charges
Europe
Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects
the right to a fair trial.
United States
In the United States, people facing criminal charges in any situation are given rights by the
Constitution. These rights include things like the
right to remain silent,
habeas corpus, and the
right to an attorney. It is important for someone who faces criminal charges to know their rights so they can take the proper action to exercise their rights. Among those rights are a criminal suspect's
Miranda Rights which are read to a suspect prior to interrogation while in the custody of the police. If a suspect is not given a Miranda warning prior to interrogation it is possible that the suspect's statements will be excluded from evidence in a later criminal prosecution.
Prosecution
Many people avoid criminal charges by staying out of the state where they committed the crime. A person facing state criminal charges is always prosecuted in the state where they committed the charges.
A person may be able to get away with minor violations like a ticket, but they will not be able to hide from something like a misdemeanor or a felony.
There are about sixty criminal charges that are considered more serious that people face every day. These charges can range from less serious actions such as
shoplifting or
vandalism to more serious crimes such as
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
.
Reckoning
A person may not even know if he was charged. If he is really worried, he can contact an
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
to ascertain if he was charged with any crime. A police officer may also charge someone after they investigate the possible crime he committed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criminal Charge
Criminal procedure
Documents