Brought to trial means to calendar a legal case for a hearing, or to bring a defendant to the bar of justice. The simplest definition is "the commencement of the trial in a court by formally calling and swearing in of the witnesses to initiate the trial proceedings." However, much like pro rata, it has several different, ambiguous meanings and examples used in the law. To bring to trial is when the process is ongoing.
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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.
Related terms
A number of related terms and meanings exist: