Brought to trial

Brought to trial generally refers to scheduling a legal case for a hearing,[1] or to bring a defendant to court.[2] However, it has several different, ambiguous meanings and examples used in the law. To bring to trial may refer to bringing a defendant to court when the process is ongoing.

## Political, war, and other infamous crimes

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Most often, the terms brought to trial, bring to trial, brought to justice and bring to justice refer to the prosecution at trial of alleged war criminals[3] and political prisoners,[4][5] as well as those accused of treason or misprision of treason, sexual assault, and other infamous crimes.[6][7]

## Speedy trial

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In some cases, the context of the term actually indicates a speedy trial issue, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[8][9][10][11]

## Related terms

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A number of related terms and meanings exist:

* "Arraign, litigate, lodge, bring a complaint, bring to view evidence, exhibit, manifest and bring together, [and] accumulate."[12]
* "Lawsuit, suit, suit in law, suit at law, litigation, prosecution, bring a case before the court or bar, [and] bring to justice."[13]
* To "call to the bar, ... take silk, take to the law, bring to the bar, put on trial, pull up, accuse, ... file a claim, [and] inform against."[14]
* When the parties in a mediation or settlement conference can not come to an alternate dispute resolution, the action is brought to trial.[citation needed]

### In the United Kingdom

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Schedule 1[15] of the Interpretation Act 1978 defines:

> “Committed for trial” means—

> (a) in relation to England and Wales, committed in custody or on bail by a magistrates’ court pursuant to section 6 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, or by any judge or other authority having power to do so, with a view to trial before a judge and jury; [1889]

> (b) in relation to Northern Ireland, committed in custody or on bail by a magistrates’ court pursuant to Article 37 of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, or by a court, judge, resident magistrate or other authority having power to do so, with a view to trial on indictment. [1st January 1979]

“Sent for trial” means, in relation to England and Wales, sent by a magistrates' court to the Crown Court for trial pursuant to section 51 or 51A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

## References

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1. ^ Kingdon, Arthur P. (1939). "The Trial Justice System of Virginia". Journal of the American Judicial Society. 23: 216.
2. ^ Franklin, Carl J. (1999). Constitutional law for the criminal justice professional. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press. p. 216\. ISBN 9781439821848.
3. ^ B'TSelem Press Release about bringing to trial those Palestinians responsible for alleged war crimes Archived December 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Amnesty International Press Release about Haitian political prisoners Archived December 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ "Viet Nam: Another elderly dissident to be brought to trial - Amnesty …". 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008.
6. ^ Court TV article mentioning "Brought to trial" in context Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ "Draft Dodgers Brought to Trial"[permanent dead link‍]
8. ^ 2007 California Rules of Court, Rule 8.913, found at California Rules of Court
9. ^ Nebraska statutes, found at Findlaw.com
10. ^ Idaho statutes section 19-3501, found at Idaho state web site
11. ^ New York Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) section 30.30, found at NY State web site
12. ^ Burton, W. C. Burton's Legal Thesaurus, p. 597.
13. ^ Chapman, R.L. & Chapman, P.M. (1989). Roget's International Thesaurus, p. 767.
14. ^ Grumley, C.P. (n.d.) Roget's Thesaurus, p. 977.
15. ^ "Interpretation Act 1978". www.legislation.gov.uk. Expert Participation. Retrieved 2018-09-08.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)