Once all pre-trial processes are complete, if there is no possibility of a plea agreement, the case will proceed to trial. The purpose of the trial is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty of each of the charges filed against him/her beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a bench trial, the judge decides any legal issues that arise (such as the admissibility of evidence) and, after hearing all the evidence, makes decisions of fact (i.e., Is the defendant guilty or not guilty?). In a jury trial, the judge makes any decisions of law that arise and the jury makes decisions of fact. Decisions of fact mean deciding which facts are proven beyond a reasonable doubt and whether the defendant has been proven guilty of each charge. The judge or jury’s decision on the defendant’s guilt is called a verdict.

What does the prosecutor have to prove?

As explained, the prosecution has the burden at trial to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each crime has elements. Think of each criminal statute like an equation: the sum of all the elements equals a crime. That means that the prosecutor has to prove each element of the crime and that the defendant(s) is the person/people who committed it.

Example: This example comes from one of New York’s rape statutes: “A person is guilty of rape in the first degree when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion.”

The elements that must be proven are:

• sexual intercourse took place between the victim and defendant AND
• the victim did not consent to the sexual intercourse because the defendant employed force (defined as “forcible compulsion”)

Both sexual intercourse and forcible compulsion have their own definitions within the law that the prosecution must satisfy.¹

In order for the jury to find the defendant guilty, they must find that the prosecution proved each element beyond a reasonable doubt.

The following pages explain each stage of the trial.