Chp. 7-9 Flashcards
During the American Rev. what were courts used for?
- used to dispute unjust laws imposed by England
ex. taxing paper and tea, taxing various other goods, taxing trade with non-english nations
4 levels of state court jurisdiction
- limited (lowest level)
- general: trial courts where most cases are heard
- intermediate appellate courts
- courts of last resort (state supreme court)
3 levels of federal court jurisdiction
- district courts and court of appeals
- US court of appeals
- supreme court of US
the US supreme court can hear an appeal of any case involving:
- federal law
- suits between states
- cases involving interpretations of the US constitution
the Grand Jury
- used by federal gov. +about 1/2 of the states as part of their pretrial process
- consists of private citizens, typically 23 of them
- designed to serve as filters to eliminate from processing cases with no suffiecient evidence
- have the authority to supeona witnesses
began in 1166 in England
Pretrial Activities
criminal cases consist of several phases, starting from initial arrest to trial to sentencing and possible appeal
1. arrest
2. booking
3. bail
4. first appearance
5. arraignment
6. pretrial release
7. plea bargain
4 purposes for first appearance
- for the defendant to receive formal notification of the criinal charges against them
- to be formallt advised to their rights under the constitution
- to have the ipportunity to obtain an atttorney ot the have one appointed to represent them
- to be given the opportunity for bail if applicable
2 purposes of bail
- to ensure the appearance of the accused at required court dates
- it is supposed ot prevent persons not convicted from suffering imprisonment unnessarily
7 alternatives to cash bail
- ROR: release an recognizance
- property bond
- deposit bail
- conditional release
- third party custody
- unsecure bonds
- signature bonds
alternative to cash bail
ROR
release on recognizance
- does not require cash bond
- requires defendant to agree in writing to return for any subsequent court preceedings required by court
altrernative to cash bail
property bond
- can be used as substitute for other items of value in lieu of cash
- real estate, land, car, stocks, bonds
- forms of property may be relegated to the court to ensure defendants appearance
alternative to cash bail
deposit bail
- court allows defendent to deposit a percentage of the full bail amount wiht court
- courts typically will return the amount to the defendant exceppt for small (1%) administrative fee
alternative to cash bail
conditional release
- impose a set of requirements on the defendant that might include: drug treatment, protective orders, getting a job, etc.
alternative to cash bail
third party custody
- court assigns custody of the defendant to an individual or an agency that assures their appearance at subsequent court dates
alternative to cash bail
unsecure bonds
- a court determined dollar amount of bail
- the defendant agrees in writing that failing to appear will result in forfeiture of the entire amount which might be taken by seizing property
alternative to cash bail
signature bond
- authorized a defendants released based on the defendants written promise to appear
- involve no particular assessment of how dangerous a defendants may be or how likely the defendant is to make court appearances
- only used for minor offenses
2 purposes of early intervention programs
- collect and present info about defendants who have just been arrested and what release options or programming are availiable that can be used to help court officials decide pre-trial release options
- help supervise defendants who have ben released prior to their trials to ensure they fulfill any court ordered conditions of release
2 purposes of arraignment
- formally advise the defendant of the specific nature of the charges against them
- give defendant the opportunity to enter a plea if they choose to do so
plea bargaining
process of negotitation involving the defendant, prosecution and defense cousel
- an agreement where the defendant pleas guilty in order to reduce charge
types of plea bargaining
- guilty
- not guilty
- nolo contendere: no contest
the court room work group
professionals who are experienced in criminal trial courtroom practice and who are authorized to conduct the business of and for the court
professionals within the court
- judges
- prosecutors
- defense counsel
- public defenders
- police officers
- baliffs
- court clerks
- court reporters
judges
- either elected or appointed
- perside over a court of law
- have the authority to hear and conduct trials as well as sometimes decide cases
- issues rules of law
- weighs objections from both prosecution and defense
- decides admissibility of evidence
- decide guilt or innocence
how judges are selected
- federal judges must be nominted by the president of the united states and confirmed by thte senate
- state judges are either appointed or elected depending on state law and jurisdiction
- the only states that appoint rather than elect state judges are connecticut, georgia, maine, south carolina, vermont
5 methods of state judicial selection
- partisan
- nonpartisan
- legislative
- gubernatorial
- assisted appointment
method of state judicial selection
partisan
judges who are elected by the people and canidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation
method of state judicial selection
non-partisan
judges who are elected by the people and canidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation
method of state judicial selection
legislative
judges who are elected by teh state legislative
method of state judicial selection
gubernatorial
judges who are appointed by the governor
- in some cases approval from the legislative body is required
methods of state judicial selection
assissted appointment
merit selection or missouri plan
a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial canidates and submits a list of names to the governor who appoints a judge from the list
- after initial term the judge must be confirmed by the people in yes-no retention election to continue serving
prosecuting authority
legally authorised representations of the people due to the belief that violations of the criminal law are an offense not only against the victim but also are a violation against the public
- except for federal prosecutors and solicitors
examples of prosecuting authority
- district attorney
- states attorney
- county attorney
- commonwealth attorney
- solicitors
3 types of discretionary decisions by prosecutors that are always innapropriate
- accepting guilty pleas for personal gains
- decisions not to prosecute friends or associates
- overzealous prosecution to get high visibility
defense attorney
a laywer whose job it is to represent the defendant after arrest and to see that the defendants civil rights are protected during processing by the criminal justice system
- represent their client and safeguard their constitutional rights
- prepare competent defense
3 types of defense counsel
- private attorneys
- counted appointed counsel
- public defenders
private attorneys
- typically work for law firms or have their own legal practice
- charge between $100 to $200 an hour and charge for prep time and work in courtroom
- very few law school students choose to practice in the criminal field while most opt for civil work
counted appointed counsel
- mandated that defendants who without the ability to pay for a private criminal defense attorney, must recieve competent legal representation during all stages of criminal justice
- 6th amendment guarantees all criminal defendants the effective assistance of counsel
- powell vs. alabama (1932)
- johnson vs. zerbst (1938)
- gideon vs. wainwright (1963)
3 methods to fulfill the requirement for an indigent defense
- assigned counsel
- public defenders
- contractual arraignment
public defenders
- employed by state to represent indigent defenders
- rely on full tim salaried staff including defense attorneys,, defense investigators and office personnel
- used in 64% of countries nationwide
- 28% of state jurisdictions nationwide exclusively use public defender programs
contractional arrangements
work with country and state officials to make arrangements for local attorneys to provide representation for indigent defenders on a contractual basis
police officers
- considered as lay/fact witnesses in a trial
- a few are designated as an expert witness
- as a lay/fact witness their testimony is generally confined to basic facts concerning the case
expert witness
- have knowleged and expertise beyond ordinary lay person
- permits them to give testimony concerning an issue that requires specific knowledge to understand
- can be called by either the prosecution or the defense
- permitted to give opinion testimony which non-expert witness may be prohibited from testifying to
the baliff
- typically law enforcement officer also referred to as a court officer
- many jurisdictions have specific agencies whose sole purpose is to provide security int he courthouse
- play crucial role in the security of the courtroom as well as courthouse
- maintain order in courtroom
- secure witnesses
- annouce judges entry into the courtroom
the court reporter
- create and maintain order during the trial
- professionallu licensed/certified to record court proceedings
- record speken words using a phoneiyc code on stenotype machine
the count clerk
- manage the clergical functions related to the courts
- have both administrative duties and in trial activities
- maintain case records
- perpares jury pool
- isues jury summons
- supeonas witnesses
- marks and maintains physical evidence
the non-professionals of the courtroom
- victims
- defendants: they choose a defense attorney, chooses info to disclose, decides what plea to enter, decided whether or not to file an appeal in the event of conviction
fact witnesses
may have witnessed a crime or came upon a crime scene shortly adter the crie was perpetrated
jurors
- can be selected for either trial or grand jury and tasked with job of making a decision based on facts presented in court of law
- 6 to 12 people
jury selection
- typically selected from voter registration records, tax, records, or motor vehicle records
- “voir dire”
- prosecution and defense challeges jurors
Voir Dire
tell the truth
the judge, prosecution, and defense screen potential jurors
challenging the jurors
- prevention for including biased jurors both prosecution and defense can challenge the selection of certain number of jurors
peremptory challenges
permits prosecution adn defense to remove prospective jurors from consideration without a cause
jury sequestration
designed to limit jurors exposure to the media to avoid influencing their objectivity also used to protect juroros from exposure to bribes threats or undue persuasion
housed in a hotel for the length of trial + access to media monitored
2 types of guilt
- factual
- legal
factual guilt
being able to prove whether the defendant is truly responsible for the crime they are accused of
legal guilt
more ambiguous, proven only when the prosecution has presented evidence that is sufficient enough to convince jury or judge that the defendant is guilty
adversarial system
prosecution vs. defense
the central to this system is the advocacy model
calls for both sides of the case to have legal representation
stages of criminal trial
- trial intiation
- opening statement
- presentation of evidence
- testimony of a witness
- objections
- final or closing statement
- charging the jury
- the verdict
stage of criminal trial
trial intiation
indicates that the trial will begin within a reasonable period of time
the speedy trial act
1974
allows for the dismissal of criminal charges in cases where the prosecution does not seek an indictment or info within 30 days of arrest or when a trial does not begin within 70 working days after indictment or initial appearance for defendants who plead not guilty
stages of criminal trial
opening statement
- made by prosecution and defense
- serve the purpose of advising the jury of what evidence the attorneys for both sides are planning to present and what they intend to prove
- prosecution always gets the first
presentation of evidence
- the gov or state is first given the opportunity to present the eviednce with the intention of proving the defendents guilt
- once the prosecution has presented their evidence and rested their case, the defense is then given the chance to present evidence they belive is favorable to the defendant
3 types of evidence
- direct evidence
- circumstancial evidence
- real evidence
direct evidence
- prove fact without requiring judge or jury to draw inferences, can include info from photo of video
- can include testimonial evidence from witness
circumstancial evidence
- indirect and does require an inference to draw conclusions
real evidence
- may be direct or circumstancial
- refers to physical material or indications of physical activity
probative value
the value that eviednce has in proving or disproving guilt
stage of criminal trial
testimony of a witness
- evidence tnat is offered orally by a swarn witness on the witness stan during a criminal trial
- direct and cross examination
testimony of a witness
direct examination
the first round of questions asked by prosecutor to their witness
- leading questions are not permitted
testimony of a witness
cross examination
done by defense after direct examination
exposes any inconsistencies, contradictions, or uncertanties in the witness testimony
- limited to questions asked during direct examination
- leading questions are permitted
objections
prosecution or defense may raise objections to questions posed by the other side that seem to violate the rules of evidence
- judge must rule on these objections
objection
sustained
the questioner must withdraw the question and the jury must disregard it and any response made by the witness
objection
overruled
the question is deemed proper and questioning continues
stages of criminal trial
final or closing arguments
both prosecution and defnse are given the opportunity to summarize their overall presentations to the jury
- provides jury a chance to review and analyze the evidence presented
stages of criminal trial
charging the jury
judge instructs jury to deliberate upon the evidence until they decide a verdict
- judeges may also provide a summary of evidence presented
- once jury has been charged jurors have a private deliberation
stages of criminal trial
the verdict
to find the defendant guilty of a crime, the jury must agree that guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt
professional jurors?
advantages:
- dependability
- knowlege
- equity
paid by the gov annd expected to have the expertise to sit on jury
how many more cases do state courts handle than federal courts?
30%
which of the following is NOT under federal court jurisdiction
motor vehicle law
trial level federal courts are known referred to as…
US district courts
the term used for when the Supreme Court hears a case is…
judicial review
what is the average tenure of a Supreme Court Justice?
16 years
a requirement to be on the Supreme Court of the United States
be nominated by the president
standards of grand jury
- determines probable cause
- does not decide guilt or punishment
- majority decision
standards of grand jury
- determines probable cause
- does not decide guilt or punishment
- majority decision
standards of trial jury
- unanimous decision
- decides innocence or guilt
- proof beyond reasonable doubt
why are some judges in the U.S. incentivised to put people in jail?
because they are elected
which of the following is NOT one of the elements of a court diversion contract?
a period of incarceration
what is the main reason for the initial shift for the courts to use plea bargains?
courts were unable to process all of the cases
the gate keeping process discussed is referred to as?
prosecutorial discretion
at what point in history did plea bargaining appear in courtrooms?
after the civil war
prosecutorial immunity
the prosecutor cannot be sued in civil court
Which of the following is the most important job for a criminal defense attorney?
safeguard the rights of the client
what other amendment was greatly expanded as a result of the Gideon decision?
14th
what percentage of arrested people qualify for a public defender?
80%
how long does the average trial last?
1-2 days
Which of the following would prevent someone from being found factually guilty?
alibi
when charged with a crime, is more inclined to choose a bench trial over a jury trial?
police officers
Which of the following is NOT an example of direct evidence
a witness saying they saw a car speeding away from the crime scene
what is the average tenure of a Supreme Court Justice?
16 years
Which of the following cases won a conviction based on circumstantial evidence?
scott peterson for murdering his wife laci peterson and unborn son connor
the facial recognition software that the Chicago Police Department uses is called?
Neoface
what color indicates a positive reaction for blood using the Kastle-Meyer test?
pink
one of the most important things to demonstrate to the jury during closing arguments is…
credibility
