If you’re unfamiliar with legal terminology, it’s understandable that you might have been perplexed when hearing the term “criminal calendar.” In this article, we’ll explain precisely what a criminal calendar is and how it plays an important role in the legal system. You can think of it as a roadmap that allows lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to track the progress of a criminal case.
Breaking Down the Components
The phrase “criminal calendar” largely refers to the process where criminal cases are scheduled for various steps. Essentially, it is a record of what types of cases are scheduled on a particular day. In most court systems, criminal calendars lay out month by month how cases will move through the system.
In addition to simply tracking the schedule for hearings and trials, the criminal calendar includes pertinent information about each case. This information includes the date the complaint was made, the date the warrant of arrest was issued, the date the defendant was incarcerated, the date that the indictment was filed, and every other significant event connected to the case.
How and Why Criminal Calendars Are Used
Criminal calendars can be used by lawyers to help prepare the simplest of hearings, such as arraignments, as well as the more complex trials. Lawyers and prosecutors use criminal calendars to review what legislation and checks and balances exist in connection to a criminal event. This helps bring the guilty and innocent to justice faster.
In addition, criminal calendars provide a scheduling framework for multiple court locales. For example, when a defendant is charged with multiple crimes that span multiple courts, the criminal calendar can quickly shed light on the necessary steps for the prosecutor to take in each jurisdiction.
Other Criminal Calendar Benefits
Not only are criminal calendars useful for lawyers, but judges and court administrators benefit from them as well. For instance, the criminal calendar helps the court record what happened in a case. This makes it easier to review the case when needed. Other benefits of criminal calendars include:
- Helps limit delays in getting to trial
- Provides an organized view of the case process
- Makes it easier to spot discrepancies or errors in the criminal process
- Reduces courtroom confusion about the timeline of events
Final Thoughts on Criminal Calendars
In totality, criminal calendars provide an organized structure to the legal proceedings for criminal cases. They provide the framework for the justice system to work efficiently while also providing the assurance that slowdowns don’t interfere with the progress of any one particular case. With this knowledge, it is easy to see how criminal calendars play an integral role in the functioning of the criminal justice system.