Brought to trial


Brought to trial generally refers to scheduling a legal case for a hearing, or to bring a defendant to court. 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

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 and political prisoners, as well as those accused of treason or misprision of treason, sexual assault, and other infamous crimes.

Speedy trial

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|Sixth Amendment] to the United States Constitution.

Related terms

A number of related terms and meanings exist:
Schedule 1 of the Interpretation Act 1978 defines:
“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.