There are five major steps in the pretrial process. Notably, different systems have distinct pretrial processes. The parties involved in the process have the obligation to comply with these steps. Interviews are conducted as the first initial step (Waksman & Goodman, 2010). This also entails data collection. Information gathering is another critical initiative that is considered during this stage. All the pretrial detainees must be probed. Cash and bail considerations are important during these processes. However, this is subject to the overriding penal codes.
The pretrial interviews are conducted for five days within a the week (Zalman, 2011). The officers must expound on the objective of the interview. In addition, the pretrial officers also have to declare to the suspects the voluntary nature of these interviews. Various critical facts regarding the suspects are gathered in this stage. Ideally, the process forms the basic springboard for successful prosecution of the case. The second step involves verification procedure. This stage entails the actual verification of gathered information. This helps to identify the family members with the capacity to pay for the bail.
The third step involves the observation of a court appearance. The respective officers make a court appearance with a motive to initiate the arraignment. An interview form must be presented before the court officials. This form contains the kind of information already verified. Moreover, it must also disclose all criminal records of the arrested person (Zalman, 2011). All court administrative procedures involving the inception of hearings and proceedings are done within the stage. However, it should be noted that the pretrial procedures do not provide court recommendations on the eligibility for release of the suspect.
The fourth step entails the release of the arrested person. This is done according to the relevant regulations. Generally, the court follows the appropriate channel to initiate the release (Waksman & Goodman, 2010). There are specific forms that must be filled by the relevant officers in order to start the process. These stages differ within states and nations, depending on the legal frameworks. The next process after release is supervision. In this procedure, the conditions during release must be supervised.
There are various individualized supervision schedules (Waksman & Goodman, 2010). Assessments are based on substance and drug abuse, battering behavior, anger and depression management. Others might entail curfew and electronic monitoring of suspects. Services undertaken during pretrial are crucial in many ways. For instance, they offer a chance for all defendants to undergo critical assessments. The assessments provide information on the eligibility of optional sentencing programs. They also inform the relevant officers on the concept of “referral to diversion” (Zalman, 2011). This explanation provides a brief description of the basic steps of the pretrial process.
The Prosecutor’s Duty to Disclose Exculpatory Information
The prosecutorial admission of information for the defense is important. This must be done fairly within all justice systems. However, there are heavy debates on the type of information to be disclosed (Waksman & Goodman, 2010). In most cases, the prosecutors have an obligation to disclose exculpatory information. These provisions are indicated and managed through different sources. Some of these might include the state or federal constitutions. The significance of statutes, courts and other state laws cannot be ignored in this process (Zalman, 2011). There are limits on the exculpatory information to be disclosed by the prosecutors. However, these vary according to the legal frameworks used in various states.
References
Waksman, D. M. & Goodman, D. J. (2010). The search and seizure handbook. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Zalman, M. (2011). Criminal procedure: Constitution and society. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.