Criminal procedure looks at how different countries and governments establish the guilt or innocence of the accused. Students may study how procedure regulates the relationships between parties in trials. Studies may also examine restraints on government and law enforcement investigation of crime.

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a "doctor of philosophy" degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.