Administrative Law
Lifetime Driver’s License Revocation: Rules in Each State
A lifetime or permanent driver’s license revocation does not always mean never driving again. In Florida, a driver whose license was permanently revoked after four or…
Criminal Courts and Legal Process
The criminal courts and legal process describe how a criminal case moves from an arrest to a final outcome, and what can happen afterward. Police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries each play a role. Federal, state, and local courts handle these cases, and the Constitution protects the rights of the accused at every stage.
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October 9last updated
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Latest in Criminal Courts and Legal Process
Arrest and Charging
Inside the Grand Jury: The Citizens Who Check Prosecutorial Power
The jury refused to charge them.
Appeals and Post-conviction Relief
How State Criminal Cases Can Jump to Federal Court—And Why It Rarely Happens
A federal judge in Manhattan heard arguments about something that almost never happens in American criminal law: whether to move a state conviction to federal court…
Appeals and Post-conviction Relief
Why Courts Keep Rejecting Trump’s Hush Money Immunity Defense
On May 30, 2024, a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts in his hush-money case. On July 1, 2024, the Supreme…
Topics in Criminal Courts and Legal Process
Before trial
Arrest and Charging covers how a person is taken into custody and formally accused. Bail and Pretrial Detention covers whether a person waits for trial at home or in jail. Plea Bargaining covers agreements that resolve a case without a trial.
Courts and lawyers
Court Structure explains which courts hear criminal cases and how they relate to one another. Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys covers the lawyers who bring charges and answer them.
Trial and punishment
Trial Process and Jury Trials covers how evidence is presented and how a verdict is reached. Sentencing covers how punishment is chosen after a conviction, and Death Penalty covers the most severe sentence.
After the verdict
Appeals and Post-conviction Relief covers how convictions are challenged and reviewed. Pardons and Clemency covers the power to forgive or shorten a sentence, and Expungement and Record Sealing covers clearing or hiding old records.
All Articles on Criminal Courts and Legal Process
What Happens to a Conviction If a Case Moves to Federal Court After Trial
Whether a New York state court conviction of a former president should be thrown out is a question American courts have almost never confronted.…
Five Years After January 6: Who Was Pardoned and What Happens Now
On his first day back in office, Donald Trump signed a proclamation pardoning 1,583 people arrested in connection with the Capitol attack. It covered…
Why Trump Pardoned a Drug-Trafficking Honduran Ex-President
President Donald Trump exercised his executive clemency power on November 28, 2025, to pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former President of Honduras, who was…
How a Grand Jury Failure Could End the Case Against Comey
In autumn 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted former FBI Director James B. Comey. The indictment, unsealed on September 25, 2025, charged Comey…
Your Right to a Fair Trial: How Federal Courts Work
When Americans think of their rights, they often turn to the Bill of Rights—freedom of speech, religion, and the press. None of these rights…
The Presidential Pardon Power
Learn what presidential pardons and commutations do, which cases they reach, how applications work and why the power remains hard to police.
How Drug Courts Work: Balancing Punishment and Treatment
Learn how drug courts combine treatment and supervision, who can enter, what sanctions and graduation mean, and the legal terms to check before joining.
Forced Arbitration vs. Jury Trials: How Fine Print Affects Your Right to Sue
The American legal system is built on the right to your day in court. This principle, based in the Constitution, evokes images of citizens…
Bail Rights: How Wealth Affects Who Stays in Jail Before Trial
Bail rights depend on more than a dollar amount. Cash deposits, bond fees, detention rules and reform show how wealth affects release before a criminal trial.
Why Criminal Trials Are Public: The Right to Open Courts Explained
In American courtrooms, the default setting is open doors. The principle stands in stark contrast to the secret tribunals and shadowy proceedings that have…