How a Case Moves Through a Court

Criminal Procedure Flow

A simplified criminal-procedure sequence with jurisdiction and practice caveats.

Structured Visual

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Criminal case lifecycleCriminal case lifecyclescope: US | Deliberately incomplete glance map | as of 2026-08-28Simplified structural model; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; cite, abstain, and handoff for interpretation.InvestigationChargingPretrial processPlea or trialJudgment and reviewedge=n1->n2 label=nextedge=n2->n3 label=nextedge=n3->n4 label=nextedge=n4->n5 label=nextSCC: scc4:n1; scc3:n2; scc2:n3; scc1:n4; scc0:n5
highlighted = computed this step

Scope and honesty note

Jurisdiction: United States structural overview; as of 2026-08-28; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice. This lesson renders source and process structure, refuses interpretation, cites, abstains, and hands off.

US structural model as of 2026−08−28\text{US structural model as of }2026-08-28

See the essential structure first

The preview names a common criminal sequence without implying charges, pleas, verdicts, sentences, or review outcomes. This deliberately incomplete preview has 5 nodes; exceptions and legal consequences remain in the sourced prose below.

glance nodes=5\text{glance nodes}=5

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Criminal case lifecycleCriminal case lifecyclescope: US | Deliberately incomplete glance map | as of 2026-08-28Simplified structural model; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; cite, abstain, and handoff for interpretation.InvestigationChargingPretrial processPlea or trialJudgment and reviewedge=n1->n2 label=nextedge=n2->n3 label=nextedge=n3->n4 label=nextedge=n4->n5 label=nextSCC: scc4:n1; scc3:n2; scc2:n3; scc1:n4; scc0:n5

Criminal procedure is a process map

This lesson uses a simplified criminal procedure map. State and federal systems differ, and the map does not imply any result.

simplified criminal process\text{simplified criminal process}

Example stage data

The toy path starts at investigation, then charge, arraignment, pretrial motion practice, trial, verdict, sentencing, and appeal labels.

stage labels only\text{stage labels only}

The verdict branch has a safeguard

The not-guilty branch terminates at case ends in this diagram. The guilty branch is a process label that points to sentencing; it is not a prediction.

not guilty branch terminates\text{not guilty branch terminates}

The diagram governs the route

The simplified criminal flow has 11 stages and 2 decision gates.

stages=11,decisions=2\text{stages}=11,\quad \text{decisions}=2

Diagram note

The chart is a procedure vocabulary map. It does not imply any verdict, sentence, or appeal outcome.

criminal process labels only\text{criminal process labels only}

Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.

RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.

Simplified criminal case pathSimplified criminal case pathscope: US | Common criminal procedure pattern | as of 2026-08-28Simplified structural model; jurisdictions vary; not legal advice; cite, abstain, and handoff for interpretation.InvestigationChargingInitial appearanceArraignmentMotionsPlea decisionTrialVerdictCase endsSentencingAppeal pathedge=start->charge label=referedge=charge->appearance label=nextedge=appearance->arraignment label=nextedge=arraignment->motions label=nextedge=motions->plea label=nextedge=plea->sentence label=pleaedge=plea->trial label=trialedge=trial->verdict label=verdictedge=verdict->sentence label=guiltyedge=verdict->acquittal label=not guiltyedge=sentence->appeal label=reviewSCC: scc10:start; scc9:charge; scc8:appearance; scc7:arraignment; scc6:motions; scc5:plea; scc4:trial;scc3:verdict; scc0:acquittal; scc2:sentence; scc1:appeal

What the glance view leaves out

Criminal procedure varies across federal, state, and local systems and depends on constitutional, statutory, rule, and case sources. The compact lifecycle omits warrant, custody, counsel, bail, discovery, motion, jury, sentencing, and post-conviction detail rather than guessing it.

compressed preview; source-specific detail controls\text{compressed preview; source-specific detail controls}

Narrow summary

Read each node as a process label and each branch as a route label, not as a factual or legal finding.

route labels not findings\text{route labels not findings}