Criminal Forms - How They Protect Your Criminal Rights

A person who has committed a crime or has been accused of and convicted of a crime is a criminal. The formal document by which a criminal is accused of an offense is known as criminal charge. A criminal charge is the first step to prosecution. A person is convicted only when the criminal charge is proven beyond reasonable doubt. When a person is charged with a crime s/he has to file a response with the court. The formal response filed by the accused is known as a plea. Along with the plea, the accused files an affidavit with the court declaring the truth of the facts. Pleas of an accused are of different types:

• Guilty plea in which the accused admits the charges against him/her
• Not guilty plea in which the accused denies the charges
• Nolo Contendere or 'no contest plea' in which the accused denies the charges but subjects the defendant to punishment

Some of the important criminal legal rights protected by criminal forms include:

Bonds - An accused person also has the right to be released on bail by personal or surety bond. A bond is an assurance that the accused will appear for all future court dates. If an accused person believes that s/he is unlawfully arrested, s/he has the right to be released from imprisonment after such arrest. An unlawfully arrested person or some other person on behalf of the unlawfully arrested person can approach a court of law for a writ of habeas corpus. The habeas corpus writ demands the release of an unlawfully detained person.

Speedy trial and right to counsel - The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for speedy trial of an accused person. However, the accused person may waive his/her speedy trial rights. However, the waiver of speedy trial must take place within the statutory period.

Post conviction relief - After an accused is charged with an offense, the accused may have relief available. One such post conviction relief is expungement. In the United States, criminal charges may be expunged. It is a process by which criminal charges are legally eliminated from records or files. Once records are sealed or expunged, the accused may deny ever having been charged with the crime.

After conviction, if the convicted person or criminal believes that the assistance of his/her counsel was ineffective, or s/he wants to produce new evidence to prove his/her innocence, the convicted person can, without going for an appeal, demand post conviction relief.

Criminal records - Federal, state, and local levels of law enforcement agencies maintain the history and details of criminals. At the federal level, two major departments that maintain details of criminals are the Department of Justice and Department of Transportation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) administers the nation's criminal history records with the help of National Crime Information Center (NCIC), under the Department of Justice. With the National Driver Register (NDR), the Department of Transportation keeps data on suspended licenses for offenses such as traffic violations, driving under the influence (DUI), or driving while intoxicated (DWI).

Criminal records are shared between government agencies and are also made available to public. They may be used for background checks and criminal record checks. Most employers conduct background checks and a criminal records check before employing a person. A background check also helps employers discover incidents of criminal identity theft committed by prospective employees. Criminal identity theft means fraudulently identifying as another person or showing the identification documents of the other person. Also, in commercial transactions, proper background check prevents offenses such as check fraud and bad check dishonors.

Information as to whether a person is under a 'no contact order' of the court will be published by law enforcement agencies. A no contact order is an order of the court prohibiting a person from contacting with another individual or group. The ban or prohibition will be for direct or indirect contact. No contact orders are issued for offenses such as sexual harassment, stalking, or other sex offenses. Such orders may be in the form of permanent restraining orders (PRO), temporary restraining orders (TRO), protection orders, or order for protection from violence and domestic abuse.

Many professionally drafted criminal forms are available on US Legal Forms website.