Dressler, p. 6-8, “Criminal
Law in a Procedural Context: Pre-Trial”
Only a small minority of
crimes ever result in a trial. Even if a
crime is reported, the quality of the investigation of the crime can vary based
on many factors, including some that are unfair.
Not every investigation
results in enough evidence to make an arrest.
You can’t arrest a suspect without probable cause, which basically means
that there is a strong chance the suspect actually did the crime you’re
investigating.
Not every arrest results in a
trial. The suspect may get a preliminary
hearing where the judge decides whether or not the arrest was justified. Then in most jurisdictions the trial goes to
a grand jury. The grand jury must indict
the suspect in order for them to be brought to trial.
Not every indictment even
results in a trial. The suspect can file
some pretrial motions, and some of them have the potential of getting the
charges thrown out.
At that point, a lot of
defendants plead guilty, so there is no trial.
The prosecutor and defense attorney may make a plea bargain. Generally speaking, the conviction rate from
guilty pleas is around 90%.[1]
[1] Does this mean that 90% of all convictions come from guilty pleas, or does this mean that 90% of those who plead guilty are convicted? I think the former, but it’s not clear from the text.