You’re accused of a serious crime, and you plead not guilty. The case goes to trial, and a jury hears your case. In the end, they decide to convict you.
At this point, you’re wondering exactly what that conviction is going to mean. Will you have to pay financial fines? Are you going to be incarcerated? How much will those fines be, or how long will the incarceration last? Do you find out as soon as they deliver the guilty verdict?
The sentencing hearing
Generally, the answer is no, you do not find out your sentence at the trial. The goal of the trial is simply to determine if you have been officially found guilty or not.
The next step, in many cases, is for a sentencing investigation to take place. This generally just means that the judge will consider other precedents or legal requirements. For some crimes, there are both minimum and maximum sentences that have to be applied, for example. The judge needs to figure out what an appropriate sentence looks like in your case.
After this has been done, you will return to court for your sentencing hearing. At this point, you will receive the sentence and any other legal instructions.
You also may have the chance to appeal. For instance, even if you admit that you are guilty, you may feel that the sentence imposed by the court goes too far. Maybe it doesn’t match at all with former precedents, or maybe you even believe the sentence is too strict based on the guidelines and regulations that are already in place. You could appeal if you believe that the judge made a mistake or applied the law incorrectly.
It’s very important to know about all of the legal defense options you have as you go through this process.