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Judicial proceedings are court proceedings presided over by a judge, including criminal and civil cases. The judge enforces courtroom rules and may give instructions to the jury. Appeals allow higher courts to interpret laws and create judicial decrees that become law in common law countries.
Judicial proceedings refer to any proceeding that takes place in a court where a judge presides. The proceeding can be both criminal and civil. Nor is it necessary for the judge to make the final decision on the case for the proceedings to be considered a prosecution, as long as the action takes place in a courtroom where the judge has authority.
In a criminal context, prosecutions involve a trial in which a defendant is tried by a prosecutor, such as for murder. The judge may not have the opportunity to deliver a final verdict on guilt or innocence in such a case, as the Sixth Amendment grants accused felons the right to a jury of their peers. This means that although a judge presides over the proceedings and has control over some aspects of the trial, the final decision is made by the jury.
Civil litigation is also considered a form of judicial proceeding. Unlike criminal law, the state is not involved in civil action. An individual who has been wronged by another individual, company or legal entity takes the suit in civil suits. The defendant is summoned to court after a plaintiff sues and the trial takes place before a judge. Again, it may not be the judge who makes the decision on whether or not the defendant is guilty, as a jury trial is also common in civil disputes.
Although juries make the final decision on guilt or innocence, court proceedings are still referred to as prosecutions. The name exists because the judge plays a very important role in the proceedings brought before the court. The judge, in essence, enforces the rules of the courtroom.
It does this by deciding what evidence can be presented to the jury or by determining whether a certain question asked by a lawyer is appropriate. He also gives instructions to the jury based on the nature of the trial. Finally, it may also be responsible for convicting a felon if the jury decides the felon is guilty, or it may have to amend or determine whether punitive damages are appropriate in a civil suit.
Judicial proceedings are especially important at the appellate level, where judges actually determine how the law applies to a given situation or case. An appeal is a case where both the plaintiff and the defendant do not like the way the lower court has applied the law and ask a higher court to see if the law has been interpreted correctly. In common law countries, judicial decrees—statements about what a law means—in appellate actions actually become law.
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