Chapter 9- Trial Courts Flashcards
Courtroom Working Groups
The major participants are the prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who decide which defendants will be released on bail; what guilty pleas will be accepted; and, most importantly, what sentences will be imposed on the guilty
*represents on-going relationships
(PDJGS)
The hallmark of work group is __________
regularity of behavior
Plea Bargains
process through which defendant pleads guilty to criminal charge with expectation of receiving some consideration from the state
3 types of plea bargains:
sentencing, charging, and count bargaining
Sentencing Bargaining
defendant pleads guilty on basis of the promise of a specific sentences (lesser); most common form of plea bargaining
Charge Bargaining
defendant pleads guilty to a less serious charge than one originally specified
Count Bargaining
defendant pleads guilty to one criminal charge, and prosecutor dismisses all other pending charges
How cases end (3)
- police pick up/let go
- prosecutor ends the case—nolle prosequi
- Judges dismiss the case
In plea bargains…. the deal starts with one __________and then the actions of the defense attorney will be ___________
prosecutor, reactive
nolo contendre
“I will not contest it”
- usually entered when civil proceedings are likely
- plea of guilty cannot be admission of guilt in a civil trial
Prison Litigation Reform Act
terminated federal court supervision of state prisons
parole
conditional release from prison after portion of sentence has been served
Probation
- less expensive than imprisonment
- designed to maintain control over offenders while permitting them to live in community under supervision
Principle Agent Relationships
is any relationship where one actor has decision-making authority, but employs a second actor to implement/represent their interests
Principle Agent Theory (PAT)
There are conditions under which an agent (attorney) will actively work against the wishes of the principles.
One condition of PAT
- Repeat Players
- we know them and can predict their behavior
- defendants voice is left out because all of the other players have been there before
- Judge might think its a stupid case so attorney says to take a plea bargain
Imprisonment vs. Jail
Imprisonment- long term/post-trial sentence
Jail: short-term/normally pre-trial
Job of a Judge during a plea bargain
mitigator of the plea bargain…. difficult job because there are many pressures
- resource problems
- $$$
- Docket
Good job
days off their prison times for good behavior
Fines
Many trial courts of general jurisdiction depend quite heavily on fines, alone or as the principal component in combination with another sanction (probation, for example),in sentencing criminal defendants for a wide variety of offenses, including some generally considered serious
Pre-sentence Investigation
a recommendation for an appropriate sentence made by probate officer
The more serious the crime, the less one will be granted __
probation
Defendant Focus Factors
3- from the textbook
4 from class discussions
(RCSMPQ$)
- records
- circumstance
- how serious the case is
- media pressure
- repeat players
- policy questions
- $$
pro-contest plea
I plea guilty but I really don’t feel like I’m guilty
Sentencing discrimination
1) race
Sentencing disparities
looked at the characteristics of the defendant + the attributes of the sentencing process
Geography of Justice
variations in sentencing patterns in different judicial districts within same political jurisdiction
urban areas use more probation and shorter sentences then rural areas
One way courts have tried to fix crime rates is by being harsher about sentencing, which ____________
is based on how severe the crime is
More severe penalties have caused___________
over crowding
Mandatory sentencing guidelines
- used in a few states
- legislature delegates authority for developing sentence criteria to sentencing commission
- adopted guidelines must be followed by sentencing judges
voluntary sentencing
- recommended sentencing ranges by analyzing sanctions that judges in jurisdiction have usually imposed in past
- only advisory; do not have to be followed by other judges in future
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
- have become more visible and controversial than state (p.263)
- controversial because they are hash + have not lowered the prison population+ unwanted disparities are still there
- 1984 US Sentencing Commission developed guidelines for sentencing federal offenders
Capital Punishment
execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense
Eighth Amendment
against cruel and unusual punishment (Furman v Georgia)
A seven-justice majority did….
not contest to cruel and unusual punishment
Bifurcated Trial
- during 1st phase of trial, jury considers only issue of innocence or guilt. If the jury unanimously convicts for a crime carrying the death penalty, then the jury reconvenes.
- 2nd phase jury considers aggravating and mitigating circumstances and deicide to impose death penalty
States exhibit important variations in their death penalty laws. T/F
T
surety bond
the use of a bail agent who promises to pay the defendant’s bail if he or she fails to appear for further court proceedings
presentence investigation
recommendation from probation officer about the appropriate sentence
Capital Punishment
death penalty
Capital Punishment… what is finality
innocent put to death/ fears of wrongful conviction
Capital punishment….Morality question
is it right to kill someone as punishment
Capital punishment…. ethics of ending a life
not just a moral question, but a physical question
civil liberties question
8th amendment prohibition on cruel & unusual punishment
cost in the court process
states have to defend killing someone in the appellate phase
discrimination
normative concerns: how should things be?
8th amendment prohibition
narrowed the circumstances to where it is allowable
In federal court, DP….
allowable penalty
In state courts, DP…..
some who was prohibited death penalty, others allowable
Statutes….
outlawing outright or narrowing the proscribed circumstances
Defense focused
the ability to take responsibility
a) cognitive ability (IQ less then 70
(b) Age- limit usage so minors are not eligible
Crime focused…
what counts as a capital crime
severity & intent of the state
jury selection issues (stack the deck of capital punishment)
General Policy Questions
8th amendments
- overcrowding
- fairness of sentencing guidelines
- consistency over circumstance
There are laws in the books that are _____________
readily utilized
2 problems with lethal injection
1) pressure of anti-capital punishment to fight against pharmaceuticals companies who sell to the state the death penalty
2) how to make sure that people are getting the right amount of pain medicine before
Discrimination…. questions about racial bias /clacc
black males are disproportionality
generally w/ defendant & victims (interaction effect)
female/white victims more likely to have death penalty on the black fellas
class= resources mostly (have + have nots)
