Atlanta, Georgia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
The Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution provide that any person charged with a crime has the following rights:
The right to a speedy and public trial by a jury selected from the community;
The right to have the trial take place in the community where the offense occurred;
The right to have the government prove all elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt;
The right to subpoena witnesses to testify on his/her behalf and the right to present evidence on his/her behalf (or no evidence if you so choose);
The right to confront and cross examine witnesses against him/her, and
The right to not incriminate him/herself at trial (i.e., the right to not testify).
The government has the burden of proof, so the trial begins with the prosecution presenting its case against the defendant, presenting their evidence in the form of witnesses, documents and other physical objects, such as drugs, weapons, etc. After the prosecutor questions their witnesses during direct examination, defense counsel has the right to cross-examine the witnesses. After the prosecution has presented all of its evidence, it rests.
It is then appropriate for defense counsel to move for a direct verdict, which is a request for the judge to find that no reasonable jury could convict the defendant on the evidence presented by the government. If the judge agrees, he or she will enter a judgment of acquittal.
If the judge disagrees, the defendant then has the right to present evidence for its defense (or to decline to do so). The process is similar to the government's presentation of their case. Once the defense rests, the government has the right to present a rebuttal to the defense's evidence.
Once the evidence is closed, the government and defense counsel present their closing arguments. The government usually presents their argument first, then the defense presents theirs, and then the government once again gets a chance to rebut the defense argument. The court will then instruct the jury on the law that applies to the case, and the jurors then retire to deliberate the case. The verdict is returned as either guilty on all charges, guilty on some charges, not guilty on some charges, or not guilty on all charges.
If the defendant is convicted on any charges, the next phase will be sentencing. If the defendant is acquitted on all charges, he/she is free to go.
