Chapter 10 Flashcards
What stages do prosecutors have influence on in the criminal justice
system?
Prosecutors have influence on all stages in the criminal justice system, from when the offender is arrested to the final disposition of the case.
What do prosecutors make decisions on and what do they influence?
Prosecutors make decisions on whether charges should be followed, what charges to press, if a case is even worth prosecuting, while also having power over plea bargaining, bail amounts, and urge the judge to impose a particular sentence and approve agreements with the defendant.
Are you allowed to hide evidence as a prosecutor and not show the defense?
As a prosecutor you are not allowed to hide evidence from the defense. You MUST present all evidence that you find to the defense even if it could prove the defendant innocent.
Are most public defense attorney’s highly qualified and motivated?
Most public defense attorney’s are not highly qualified and motivated because they are extremely overworked and underpaid. They are also given very little resources as they are constantly given new cases and don’t have the time or money to properly prepare cases.
Do most defense attorney’s spend most of their time in court?
No, they spend most of their time, plea bargaining, attempting to get a dismissal, and ensuring the prosecutor is protecting the defendants rights and is following all of the laws and procedures.
Are most criminal defense lawyers rich?
No, most criminal defense lawyers are not rich, most are in fact severely underpaid and may go weeks without a paycheck due to budget cuts.
Are most convicted offenders spending time in state prisons, indigent, and have they received the help of a public defense attorney?
Yes, most convicted offenders spending time in state prisons are indigent and received the help of a public defense attorney
Do clients of public defenders typically trust the public defenders even though they are being paid by the state?(attitude of the client)
No, because the clients feel that being paid by the state means that the public defender won’t be putting their best effort into their case and will have no reason to protect the defendant’s rights and interests; the client won’t cooperate or trust the defender.
Are most cases handled by criminal lawyers processed quickly for small amounts of money?
Yes, as some may get paid more if they get guilty pleas during plea bargaining-they can do more cases-than if they took it to court and spent weeks preparing.
What is the job of a prosecutor?
be a representative of the government-either on a federal or state level-whose responsibility is to bring about criminal charges against the defendant in their jurisdiction
What is the most common method for selecting the job of a county prosecutor?
The most common method for selecting the job of a county prosecutor is through a partisan election.
What best describes the discretion given to a prosecutor?
broad discretion and can shape their decision to fit the interests of different people, whether it be voters, political parties, personal values, or pleasing local judges. However, they still have to follow the guidelines given to them so that they don’t over step with their discretion
After deciding that a case should be filed against an offender what is the next step the prosecutor must determine?
The next step prosecutors must determine what charges should be filed against the offender, this includes how many counts should be added for the crime or crimes committed.
What is meant by discovery?
When it says discovery it means a prosecutor’s pretrial disclosure to the defense of facts and evidence to be introduced at trial.
what is a defense attorney?
A defense attorney is an attorney who represents the accused or convicted offenders when they are working with the criminal justice system.
Know what a public defender does
A public defender is a full time, government paid employee who represents an indigent defendant throughout the process of their case.
the job of a US attorney
The job of a US attorney is to prosecute any crimes that violate the laws of the United States; these are mostly drug and white collar crimes.
A federal prosecutor, how does one get that job?
To become a federal prosecutor the president of the United States must appoint them they will serve as part of the Department of Justice
What percent of cases do public defenders handle?
82% of indigent criminal
cases
Due process model
defense attorneys advocate strongly for their clients.
Who do prosecutors support?
The victims
How many federal supreme courts are there?
One
How many U.S. district courts are there?
94
How many county level offices are there?
2,341
System efficiency model
aims at speedy and early dispositions of cases; these cases are evaluated in light of the current caseload pressures. To close cases quickly, prosecutors might charge the defendant with a felony but agree to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor in exchange for a guilty plea. This model is used when the court is backlogged and the prosecutor has limited resources according to Joan jacoby’s research.
Criminal Control model
This emphasizes the standard and expeditious processing of defendant’s through the court system and the uniform punishment of offenders according to the severity of their crimes.
Strickland vs Washington
In Florida, David Washington plead guilty to murder; the trial court found him guilty sentencing him to death as there was no mitigating circumstances to change it. It was found at sentencing that his attorney didn’t seek character witnesses or request a psychiatric evaluation, so
Washington sought habeas corpus relief in Florida federal district courts after trying in state courts. His argument was that his 6th amendment right was violated as he had ineffective counsel
during sentencing, his petition was denied. When he appealed to The U.S.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals they reversed this saying the 6th amendment gave defendants the right to reasonably effective counsel given circumstances of the case. The Supreme Court ruled in an
8-1 decision that the standards to be applied to determine whether a convicted person’s right to counsel was violated and would require the reversal of conviction or set aside a death sentence. If the counsel’s performance is deficient and the performance was prejudice depriving the defense of a fair trial. The defendant must prove there is reasonable probability that without the counsels errors the result would have been different and fell below the standard of reasonableness. Court found that Washington’s counsel was not unreasonable, and even if it had been unreasonable the counsel’s conduct didn’t cause sufficient prejudice to warrant setting aside Washington’s death sentence.
Gideon vs Wainwright
Clarence Gideon was arrested in Florida for a felony breaking and entering. He requested to have a lawyer appointed to him when he appeared in court, but was told that appointed attorneys only applied to capital cases so he had to represent himself in court. He lost trial and was given a sentence of 5 years. He filed a habeas corpus saying that the trial court’s decision violated his right to counsel, Florida Supreme Court denied it. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Gideon’s 6th amendment right to counsel was violated. In the constitution, states have to provide attorneys for indigent defendants. The 6th amendment backed up by the 14th guaranteed counsel as a fundamental and essential right. Supreme Court ruled that all criminal prosecutions courts must provide counsel for indigent defendants as part of the 6th amendment.
What election is used to select prosecutors?
Partisan
What is the purpose of the prosecutor’s office?
act as a countywide criminal investigation agency, while handling all criminal court activities for the county as they prosecute on behalt of the state or public interest.
What can defense lawyers do to mitigate any abuse?
use things from the defendants childhood or earlier life like drug abuse, child abuse, and mental health issues, as well as the good parts of their history; accomplishments in the community and employment status in order to mitigate any abuse
What are the titles of the officials responsible for criminal prosecution at the federal, state. and local levels of government?
federal level are called United States attorneys, state level state or district attorney general, local level prosecuting attorney. district attorney, county prosecutor, and county attorney.
What are the roles of the prosecutor?
trial counsel for the police, house counsel for the police, representative of the court. elected officials
Trial counsel for the police
prosecutors who see their main function is to reflect the views of law enforcement in the courtroom and take a crime fighting stance in the public
House counsel for the police
prosecutors who believe their main function is the give legal advice so arrests will hold up in court
Representative of the court
Prosecutor belief their main function should be upholding the rules of due process to ensure police are acting according to law and ensure the defendants rights are being upheld
Elected official
prosecutor who believe that the political impact should be a determining factor in their decisions and will be more responsive to public opinion.
How does a prosecutor use discretion to decide how to treat each defendant?
determining the type and number of charges, reducing the charges in exchange for a guilty plea, or entering a nolle prosequi which drops some or all of the charges.
What are prosecutors’ key exchange relationships?
Prosecutor’s key exchange relationships are with the police, defense attorneys, victims, witnesses, and the judge.
Why should prosecutors drop charges?
if they believe that they can’t make a charge stick or if they are worried about over charging a victim which could cost them the case
4 primary reasons that you believe should guide prosecutors’ decisions about when to drop charges
the seriousness of the offense, the person’s criminal record, whether the person cooperated with all parties during their trial and investigation, and the person’s culpability given each offense.
Why do prosecutors add so many counts?
In cases that have lots of counts so that when they start talking about guilty pleas with the defense attorney they will be able to drop some charges and make the defense think they are getting the best sentence possible in exchange for a guilty plea
What is a grand jury?
Grand jury trials are closed off to the public. A grand jury works by drawing community members-16 to 23-to meet in secret. These jurors will then hear the facts presented to them only by the prosecution as there will be no defense attorney present to argue the facts of the prosecutor. After the prosecutor identifies and explains the charges and presents enough evidence to justify those charges the grand jury will then be asked to decide if there is enough evidence to pursue the criminal charges, but they only need to be persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt that they committed the crime. If they decide that they committed a crime then an indictment will be issued against the suspect before moving on to plea bargaining and trial stages.
What is the accusatory process?
the activities that happen from when the suspect is booked to when the formal charge is filed in court. During this prosecutors evaluate what happened to decide if it is worth filing charges and what charges to file.
How does the image of the defense attorney differ from the attorney’s actual role?
The image of the defense attorney in the public eye is that they should be vigorously fighting against the prosecution for you the entire time. The actual role is to help protect the defendant’s rights and make sure the prosecution is being fair and can prove their case.
What special pressures do defense attorneys face?
securing cases, collecting fees, having to push clients to accept pleas, knowing that they will lose most cases, maintaining relationships with other officials in the court house, working with clients in jail and other unpleasant areas for very little money, and dealing with the negative image of themselves in the public eye.
What does it mean to “file a motion”?
To “file a motion” is to make a request to the court for a specific action or order to be put into place’
What knowledge, skills, and experiences are needed for a lawyer to be an effective criminal defense attorney?
The defense attorney’s knowledge of the law allows them to properly represent the defendant during the arraignment and hearing and advocate actively for their client since the client will have little to no
knowledge of the law and procedures compared to the defense.
Aspects of the defense attorneys job
properly plea bargain with the prosecutor, keeping the case and prosecution in check with the laws and procedures, while making sure that the prosecution has enough evidence before entering a guilty plea, and being able to advocate for the defendant properly and efficiently.
What are the three main ways of providing counsel to indigent defendants in the United States?
the contract system, public defenders, and assigned counsel
Are public defenders more effective than private defense attorneys? Explain
there is little difference in the
effectiveness between public defenders and private attorneys. The reason for this is that public defenders are able to help reduce the likelihood of getting more severe charges. It was also found that hiring a private defender will give you benefits from the time and resources that a paid attorney can apply to your case.
How has the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of attorney competence?
The U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of attorney competence by saying that unless they can prove the specific errors were made during the trial; the conviction being unjustified or there was no fight against the prosecution’s case. the court is reluctant to second guess a defense attorney, unless the trial was unreliable and the defendant was denied a fair trial, the defendant has to prove that a specific error was made by the defense attorney and that affected the outcome of the case.
Halbert v. Michigan outcome?
6-3 decision that Halbert’s right to due process and the equal protection clause required Michigan to provide counsel for defendants who want to appeal to the Michigan state appellate court. if indigent defendants who were convicted of their
pleas didn’t have counsel appointed to them to help guide them through the complex system that is appeals they wouldn’t have a meaningful chance of getting a proper appeal.
U.S. Department of Justice, prosecutors guidelines for deciding whether a case should be dismissed or pursued in addition to their discretion
- Federal law enforcement priorities
- The nature and seriousness of the offense
- The deterrent effect of prosecution
- The person’s culpability (blameworthiness) in connection with the offense
- The person’s history with respect to criminal activity
- The person’s willingness to cooperate in the investigation or prosecution of others
- The probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted
United States attorneys
Officials responsible for the prosecution of crimes that violate the laws of the United States; appointed by the president and assigned to a U.S. district court jurisdiction.
State attorney general
A state’s chief legal officer, usually responsible for both criminal and civil
matters
Prosecuting attorney
legal representative of the state with sole responsibility for bringing criminal charges in some states referred to as district attorney, state’s attorney, or county attorney.
Count
Each separate offense of which a person is accused in an indictment or
information
Discovery
A prosecutor’s pretrial disclosure, to the defense, of facts and evidence to be introduced at trial
Nolle prosequi
entry made by a prosecutor on the record of a case and announced in court to indicate that the charges specified will not be prosecuted. In effect, the charges are thereby dismissed.
Community prosecution
approach to advance effective prosecution and crime prevention by placing prosecutors in close contact with citizens and neighborhood groups in an effort to identify and solve problems while enhancing cooperation between the community and the prosecutor’s office.
Legal sufficiency
The presence of the minimum legal elements necessary for prosecution of a case. When a prosecutor uses legal sufficiency as the customary criterion for prosecuting cases, a great many are accepted for prosecution, but the majority of them are disposed of by plea bargaining or dismissal.
System efficiency
Policy of the prosecutor’s office that encourages speedy and early disposition of cases in response to caseload pressures. Weak cases are screened out at intake, and other non trial alternatives are used as a primary means of disposition.
Trial sufficiency
presence of sufficient legal elements to ensure successful prosecution of a case. When a prosecutor uses trial sufficiency as the customary criterion for prosecuting cases, only cases that seem certain to result in conviction at trial are accepted for prosecution. Use of plea bargaining is minimal; good police work, and court capacity to go to trial are required.
Accusatory process
series of events from the arrest of a suspect to the filing of a formal charge with a court (through an indictment or information).
Defense attorney
lawyer who represents accused or convicted offenders in their dealing with criminal and justice officials.
Assigned counsel
An attorney in private practice assigned by a court to represent an indigent. The attorney’s fee is paid by the government with jurisdiction over the case.
Contract counsel
attorney in private practice who contracts with the government to represent all indigent defendants in a county during a set period of time and for a specified dollar amount.
Public defender
attorney employed on a full-time, salaried basis by the government to represent indigents.
