A criminal case involves a person being accused of committing a crime. A criminal lawyer is a professional who practices law focusing on crimes. Criminal law is a complex field that combines several disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, political science, philosophy and history to understand the root cause of crime and how best to prevent it.
A crime is behavior that violates public or societal rules and regulations. Examples of crimes include murder, theft, arson, fraud and drug offenses. Crimes are also categorized by their degree of seriousness, with misdemeanors and felonies being the most common. Felonies are punishable by a year or more in prison and often involve large fines.
Most crimes are established by statute, although some still exist in common law. Prosecutors must prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict them of a crime.
Criminal cases are handled by the federal or state government, not private entities like businesses. The decision to bring a criminal case against a defendant is made by a prosecutor, who is an elected official in charge of a specific area of law. Prosecutors are often called district attorneys or county prosecutors.
The criminal justice system is a complex one, with many different laws and rules that must be followed in order to be fair for all parties. A criminal case involves a person being accused by the government of committing a crime, and it can be very stressful for the defendant. Criminal defense attorneys must be very knowledgeable in the law and be able to handle high stress situations.