The United States is a country ruled by law, but ignorance of the law is not a defense. New Chinese immigrants to the United States often encounter many difficulties in language and culture, and also often accidentally violate the law due to their lack of understanding of American law. For example, abusing a spouse due to life or work stress, and excessive corporal punishment when disciplining children.

American law is divided into two categories: civil law and criminal law. The main purpose of civil litigation is to claim financial compensation, while criminal law is a social measure to regulate individual actions. If a person violates criminal law, he or she may be sentenced to prison. Since 1996, especially after the September 11 incident, criminal law has become more severe in punishing non-US citizens. Since September 30, 1996, US immigration law has been more restrictive on some immigrants who violate criminal law in the United States. If new immigrants accidentally violate the law and do not retain a professional criminal defense lawyer to defend their rights and interests, the outcome of their criminal cases may affect their future applications for green cards and citizenship. Therefore, understanding the rights provided by the US Constitution and the criminal procedures in the United States will ensure better protection of oneself in the event of an incident.

How to deal with the police

The Chinese have a saying: "When a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to justify himself." Almost everyone of us Chinese living in the United States is afraid of dealing with the police. Of course, when the law enforcement agencies need the cooperation of the public, we all have a responsibility to try our best to cooperate with the police, such as providing clues and preventing criminal acts. However, the law does not require every citizen to answer every question of the police. In fact, the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution grants every citizen the "right to remain silent" and the "right to privacy". If the police do not have a warrant or search warrant, citizens can refuse to let the police in. Even if the police have these documents, the arrested person can still remain silent, and the police cannot use violence or other improper means to extract confessions.

The US Constitution also grants every citizen the right to retain a lawyer. Some police officers are often eager for success, or are not familiar with the culture and language of new immigrants, and often misunderstand or misunderstand the answers of new immigrants. Professional criminal defense lawyers are familiar with the police's investigation methods and know the evidence required for criminal charges, so if they find the police coming towards them, they should look for criminal defense lawyers as soon as possible to avoid getting darker and darker.

In case of arrest

When the police believe that there is sufficient evidence, they will apply to the judge for an arrest warrant. When the police officer comes to arrest with the judge's order, or when the police officer discovers a criminal act while on duty and arrests the suspect, the police officer must provide the Miranda warning to the suspect before questioning - [the right to remain silent; if you say anything, everything you say may be used as evidence against you in court; you have the right to consult a lawyer, and you have the right to have your lawyer present when you are questioned; if you cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint a public defender]. At this time, the best way to protect yourself is to exercise your right to remain silent, not answer anyone's questions, and ask to call a lawyer. On this occasion, it is often more wrong to say more. The police often rush for success and collect all the confessions or evidence that can be collected. The detective often misinterprets the arrested person's explanation out of context. Do not discuss your case with anyone before meeting with your lawyer.

Criminal bail

After being arrested by the police, the defendant has the right to request bail pending trial. Bail is used to ensure that the defendant will appear in court for trial or trial after being released from prison. If the defendant is not bailed, the law requires the defendant to appear in court within 48 hours (except weekends and holidays) after being arrested. There are three ways to bail: first, raise enough bail by yourself and give it to the police. After the case is closed, whether guilty or not, as long as the defendant appears in court for trial as scheduled, the bail will be fully refunded; second, through a bail bond company, they will charge 10% of the bail as a processing fee, and the family must provide some collateral as surety, which cannot be refunded; the third way is through a lawyer to fight for exemption  or reduction of bail in court. The court considers factors such as the defendant's previous criminal record, the severity of the case, and the possibility of the defendant absconding after being released on bail. The defense lawyer can ask the judge to reduce the defendant's bail or request that the defendant be released on bail because the possibility of the defendant absconding is small. However, the judge can refuse to reduce the bail or refuse to release the defendant on bail.

Categories of criminal acts

Most criminal activities can be divided into two categories: one is "misdemeanor"; the other is "felony". Misdemeanors are often lesser charges with a maximum sentence of one year in prison if convicted; felonies are often more serious charges with longer sentences. State governments and state legislatures often determine through legislation and other means which criminal acts are felonies and which are misdemeanors. If the charge is a misdemeanor, the case is mostly heard and completed in the district court. If the charge is a felony, the case must first be arraigned and tried in the court. If the judge thinks that the prosecution has reasonable evidence and the defendant may be at fault, the case will be transferred to the higher court for processing. If the case goes to the higher court, it must go through the procedures of arraignment, pretrial conference, and jury trial.

Plea bargaining

More than 90% of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining before the jury. The court encourages the prosecution and the defense to reach a plea agreement in order to quickly handle a large number of cases.Firstly, it encourages the defendant to "confess and be lenient, resist and be strict";secondly, it saves social resources; thirdly, it gives some first-time offenders more opportunities to correct. For the defendant, plea bargaining can end the case early and avoid going to the jury. As the saying goes, a good man does not suffer immediate losses. Some defendants are willing to settle the case through plea bargaining even if they are innocent, for fear of being severely punished if convicted by the jury. However, before reaching an agreement with the prosecution, they must consider whether the crime they have confessed will have an impact on immigration and whether the record can be cleared in the future.

Trial

If the case cannot be resolved through plea bargaining, the criminal case will proceed to the jury process. The jury is selected from the community, and any American citizen has the right and obligation to serve as a juror. The jury plays a very important role. They are the jurors of the facts and evidence. Generally, a jury consists of 12 jurors. In most states, the defendant can only be convicted if all jurors believe that the defendant is guilty. Under the current California jury system, if one or more jurors believe that the prosecution has failed to provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, the case will be "mistrial". If the prosecutor decides not to retry, the defendant will be acquitted.

A fair and reasonable trial

The US Constitution grants all defendants the right to a "fair and reasonable trial" (Due Process). A fair and reasonable trial procedure includes the defendant's right to be informed of the charges against him in a reasonable time, to have sufficient and fair opportunity to defend himself against the charges, to have a fair judge and jury determine the case, to have the opportunity to present his own version of the explanation in court, to not be forced to confess or be coerced into pleading guilty by the police, to question and cross-examine all witnesses who provide testimony favorable to the defendant, and to be represented by a lawyer to defend himself. If the case is well known in a certain area and may affect the position of the jurors, the defendant has the right to request a change of venue to another area for trial.

The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution also stipulates that the defendant has the right to a speedy trial, and the case cannot be delayed without cause. In addition, the defendant has the right to attend the trial of his case, and the trial of the court should be open to the public. The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution also stipulates that no person can be forced to be a witness against himself in a criminal case, and the prosecution cannot tell the jury that the defendant did not testify in court because he was guilty. If the case is settled out of court, the defendant must waive these rights.

Standard for conviction

In all criminal cases, the prosecutor must provide sufficient evidence and prove that the defendant's guilt is "beyond a reasonable doubt" (Beyond A Reasonable Doubt). That is, when the defendant is found guilty, the jurors cannot have a reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt. If the defendant provides evidence that the prosecution fails to meet this standard, the jurors must acquit the defendant. This strict standard is different from that in civil litigation. In civil litigation, the defendant only needs to provide "sufficient evidence" (Preponderance of Evidence). 

Immigration impact of criminal cases

Under the new law enacted in 1996, anyone who has served a prison sentence of one year or more will be deported to the Immigration Bureau after the end of the prison sentence. In recent years, more and more police have begun to cooperate with the Immigration Bureau. During the investigation of a case, if they find that the suspect does not have a legal immigration status or is facing felony prosecution without citizenship, they will place an ICE HOLD. At the same time, the immigration enforcement department also cooperates with prisons across the United States through the 287(G) program to transfer immigrants convicted of felonies to the immigration court for deportation proceedings. Therefore, qualified new immigrants had better apply for naturalization as soon as possible, pay attention to their own behavior, try to avoid violating criminal law, and if they accidentally violate the law, they should be extra careful when handling criminal cases and retain a professional lawyer familiar with immigration law and criminal law for overall handling.