Exam 3 Flashcards
What are three characteristics of the court system?
- Adversarial
- Decentralized
- Dual Court System
What is a trial vs. an appellate court?
- trials are fact finding courts
- appellate looks for errors in trials
What are the roles of judges?
- Adjudicators
- Negotiators
- Administrators
How are federal judges appointed?
- Appointed by the President
- Confirmed by the Senate
What are the roles for prosecutors?
- Trial Counsel for Police
- House Counsel for Police
- Represent of the Court elected official
What are the roles for defense attorneys?
- Advocates for their clients
- Protectors of our rights
- Counselors for emotional support
Why are prosectors viewed as the most powerful?
- Discretion over which charges are heard
- decisions are made mostly made behind closed doors
- their decisions influence the rest of the criminal justice system
What is the history for having an attorney provided to you?
- capital offense
- anyone charged with a capital crime
- anyone charged with a crime that carries prison time has to be provided an attorney
What was bail used for?
It was used to make sure that people showed up to their court date.
What is Preventive Detention Criteria
Denying bail because the person might commit another crime while on bail.
What are the three case screening models?
- Legal Sufficiency - Is there legal basis for a trial?
- Trial Sufficiency - Am I going to get a conviction?
- System Efficiency - How much resources will this trial take?
What are the arguments for plea bargaining?
- Limited Resources
- Promotes individualized justice
What are the arguments against plea bargaining?
- Punishments for asserting their constitutional rights
- It’s getting an innocent person to plead guilty
- Undermines sentencing policy
- hidden from the public
What are the requirements for someone to get a jury trial?
must be charged with a felony or a misdemeanor that is punishable by at least 6 months in jail
What is an example of direct evidence?
DNA found on a murder weapon
What is an example of real evidence?
anything tangible like a gun
What is an example of testimonial evidence?
Eyewitness accounts
What is an example of circumstantial evidence?
A murder weapon that belongs to someone but does not have their fingerprints on it
What is an example of demonstrative evidence?
A diagram or model of the crime scene
What is a hung jury?
Could not reach a verdict, defendant can be retried
What is the non-utilitarian goal for crime control?
retribution (not going to do anything to bring crime down)
What are the two types of deterrence?
specific (focused on the criminal) vs. general (trying to keep people from committing crimes in the first place)
What are the three roles of punishment?
- Certainty
- Swiftness
- Severity
What are the assumptions for retribution?
- oldest and most enduring goal
- just deserts
- non-utilitarian goal
