What a Criminal Trial In Maryland Entails and How to Get a Continuance

Navigating a criminal trial involves some nuances that must be understood by every party involved. In Maryland, as with other states, there are different phases in a criminal trial. Generally, it starts with a pretrial stage before moving on to the trial and sentencing, and it concludes with an appeal stage. While these stages define a criminal trial, they are not fixed, as every case may differ.

However, regardless of the peculiarity of your criminal trial, an important issue you must note is that of continuance. A continuance occurs when either party requests that the trial be paused to address an important issue that might have come up. “When requesting a continuance, the court typically requires a compelling justification supported by substantive evidence to consider granting the request.” says lawyer Seth Okin of Seth Okin Criminal Defense Attorney.

The Different Aspects of a Criminal Trial That Are Vital to Its Conclusion

After pleas have been taken and entered into the court’s record, the criminal trial starts with the jury selection and ends with a verdict. To help you understand how this works, let us review all of these aspects one after the other.

• The Selection of Competent Individuals to Make Up the Jury

At the start of a criminal trial, a group of competent individuals is selected from a jury pool to participate in the trial. These individuals are asked a series of questions to ascertain their neutrality and ensure they have no connection whatsoever with the case.

• Opening Statements from Both Parties

After jury selection, the next step is for parties to present their opening statements before the court. Here, parties inform the court about their perspective of things and what the court should expect from them during the trial.

• Taking Testimonies of Witnesses

Witness testimonies are essential to every case so both parties can call up their witnesses. Then, there is the examination-in-chief, cross-examination, and re-examination to ensure the veracity of the testimony given.

• Hearing Closing Arguments

As the trial comes to an end, parties are expected to provide their closing arguments in a precise manner to the court. This argument should offer a detailed summary of the case and aim at convincing the court to accept their arguments and rule in their favor.

• Jury Instruction

The jury instruction aspect is vital to the eventual conclusion of the case as it is at this point that the judge explains what the defendant is being charged with based on their actions and the provisions of the law. Also, the legal standard of analysis and reaching a decision is explained in clear terms to members of the jury.

• Taking the Verdict

After following through every step of the case, the jury is retired to deliberate on the case based on the evidence presented by both parties. Then, upholding the legal standard expected of them by law, they reach a decision of whether they are guilty or not guilty.

Understanding How Continuance Works In a Criminal Trial

A continuance is a delay requested by either party in a criminal trial to address a pressing issue. For this continuance to be granted, the reason for which it is requested must be reasonable, and the time requested must not be excessive. However, the court has the discretion to accept or deny such a request even in the face of a seemingly good reason.

Insufficient time to prepare, the presence of a new witness, the sudden disappearance of a material witness, or a serious health condition are some of the factors that can cause the court to grant a continuance. It is essential to note that the court will not tolerate seeing a continuance as a means to delay a trial.

Conclusion

Understanding the different aspects of a criminal trial and how to obtain a continuance are key. For a continuance, you will need to make a formal request stating the reason(s) in detail. The more convincing your reasons are, the higher your chance of having it granted. However, when in doubt about how this works, you should speak to a criminal attorney in Maryland to guide you.