Q: what steps would a person need to follow for trial if the person has entered a plea of not guilty to 2nd degree murder?
A:
Your very first step is to have an experienced criminal defense lawyer representing you. They know the steps that need to be followed. You absolutely would not want to try to defend yourself in a case like this. There are a lot of court rules and procedures to know and follow in any trial and can not be adequately laid out in a format like this. You should be able to have your lawyer answer any questions you have about trial and procedure.
A very basic outline in a trial is 1) pretrial motions 2) jury selection 3) opening statements 4) state presents its case and rests 5) usually the defense makes a "half time" motion to dismiss 6) defense presents case if they wish 7) rebuttal cases if necessary 8) closing statements/arguments 9) jury deliberation and verdict.
Within each of those 9 steps are many, many variables.
Talk to your lawyer. Good luck!
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