Judicial processes in the United States, as well as in other countries, are complicated procedures and the case of the former president John Orlando Hernandezaccused of charges related to the drug traffickingis no exception.
After the preliminary hearing, in which the charges were presented to him and for which he pleaded “not guilty”, a proceeding began, the core of which is the trial by jury.
However, to reach that instance, a series of steps must first (and subsequently) be followed, which will be described below.
The descriptions presented here come from the official pages of the United States Department of Justicewhich describe step by step the entire legal process that former President Hernández will have to go through.
Although each case may be different, they all follow, in general terms, the same procedure that will be described below.
For the purposes of this article, we will start from the instance in which the case of former President Hernández is found.
Formalization of charges and evidence
At this hearing the prosecution must show that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the defendant.
This instance may include the presentation of witnesses and evidence, including evidence that could not be presented to a jury.
For September 28, 2022, the judge scheduled the next discovery hearing. If the judge concludes that there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed by the defendant, a trial date can be scheduled.
In Hernandez’s case, Judge Kevin Castel, assigned to his case, has tentatively scheduled the start of the trial for January 17, 2023 (which begins with jury selection).
Previous motions
After the preliminary hearing, and as a step prior to the trial, a series of motions are presented and answered, which are requests that are presented to the court, whether they are from the defense or the prosecution, and in which it is requested that the court makes a decision on the application filed before the start of the trial.
These motions may affect the trial, the location of the trial, the defendants, the evidence, or the testimony. Only the judges can decide the outcome on the outcome of these motions.
jury trial
1__Jury selection process. Potential jurors are randomly selected from a list of registered voters.
2__The jury must represent diversity. The chosen jurors must represent all kinds of people, races and cultures.
3__Conformation of the jury. Both the defense and the prosecution can question potential jurors before they are chosen.
the trial
The main part of the process. This is where the facts of the case are presented to the jury. The prosecution uses witnesses and evidence to prove to the jury that the defendant committed the crime charged.
The accused, represented by his lawyer, also tells his version of the facts, for which he also makes use of witnesses and evidence.
At the time of the trial, one of the first things that is done is the selection of the jury, which is normally made up of 12 individuals who have the obligation to analyze the facts of the case and determine the guilt or innocence of the accused.
After presenting the evidence and listening to the witnesses, the judge, and the arguments of the parties, the judge instructs the jury to deliberate and return a verdict.
Subsequent motions
If the defendant is convicted, there are a number of motions that can be filed once the trial has concluded.
Some of the more common ones include: motion for a new trial; motion for acquittal and motion for correction of sentence, among others.
Judgment
A few months after a guilty verdict, the defendant returns to court to be sentenced.
For sentencing purposes, the judge must follow a series of detailed guidelines in the laws and codes applicable to the case, while taking into account a variety of aggravating or mitigating factors.
Appeal
The defendant may appeal the verdict or the severity of the sentence, taking the case to a Court of Appeal and included a la Supreme Court.