Abstract
The criminal law and criminal procedure in the US is the subject that deals with how a person accused of crimes is tried.
The American criminal legal system is very different from the French system and even from other common law systems. Indeed, in comparative law we differentiate between civil law which corresponds to the legal system of so-called Latin countries with a law that is codified in complete written documents. In Civil law systems, the judicial procedure is more often inquisitorial, the judge settles conflicts and his decisions are only valid for the case judged. In common law legal systems, legal standards are not compiled and are often written in scattered and multiple texts. In this system, the judge has a special place since judicial decisions constitute the most important source of law, they are enforceable and constitute legal precedents on which the judge can base his decision .
Extract
[...] Finally, the American criminal procedure is also designed to set an example to litigants with the determination of sentences. Indeed, it should be remembered that in the United States the death penalty is still practiced since twenty-five executions took place in 2024 and that only 23 federated states have abolished the death penalty. Then, prison sentences are cumulative and often represent a gargantuan number of years leading to the pronouncement of life imprisonment. This severity of sentences reflects the desire to make an example of the convicted person. [...]
[...] Court of International Trade ; the U.S. Tax Court ; the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation which rules on the possibility of grouping together several similar legal proceedings to have them judged before the same judge in a single procedure3. Each of the federated states has its own Constitution which organizes the functioning between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. There is also a Supreme Judicial Court at the level of the federated states which judges in last resort in the state concerned. [...]
[...] Criminal law and criminal procedure in the US The criminal law and criminal procedure in the US is the subject that deals with how a person accused of crimes is tried. The American criminal legal system is very different from the French system and even from other common law systems. Indeed, in comparative law we differentiate between civil law which corresponds to the legal system of so-called Latin countries with a law that is codified in complete written documents. In Civil law systems, the judicial procedure is more often inquisitorial, the judge settles conflicts and his decisions are only valid for the case judged. [...]
[...] This situation causes overcrowding in American prisons12. Then, the American criminal justice system suffers from the existence of strong racial and ethnic discrimination13. Thus, two thirds of American convicts are racialized people and many studies show that the criminal justice system is harsher towards racialized people than white people. Pleading guilty is often seen as an easier option for racialized people and encouraged by their court-appointed lawyer. These discrimination can be accentuated by the composition of the jury since the jurors are selected by the lawyers14. [...]
[...] Amnesty International has thus denounced sentences that do not take into consideration the specific reintegration capacities of juvenile offenders. In conclusion, the American criminal legal system is very different from other common law systems in both its criminal law and its criminal procedure. It gives a lot of space to the media and is still subject to many inequalities. [...]
