how long can a criminal trial last
The preliminary hearing phase of the trial usually takes place 5-6 days after an arraignment. In the case of a misdemeanor charge, the next phase of the trial is the motions and hearings phase. This usually takes about 3 months to occur but can last as long as 2 years.During this phase evidence issues are settled and investigations are conducted to determine the allowance or suppression of witnesses.owever, most criminal trials do not take nearly as long as the popular media trials would seem to make you think. Usually the entire process from arrest to sentencing takes less than a couple of years to complete. The first part of any trial process is the arrest phase.