Jury Trial

Question 1

States are obligated to provide jury trials in which types of cases?

Answer 1

criminal cases involving only serious offenses

There is a constitutional right to a jury trial for non-petty offenses—those that carry an authorized sentence of more than six months of imprisonment, regardless of the actual penalty imposed.
–Exception: additional statutory or regulatory penalties make the offense a “non-petty offense”

Question 2

Where does the right to a jury trial come from for the federal system? for the states?

Answer 2

Sixth Amendment; Fourteenth Amendment

Question 3

How may a defendant waive the right to a jury trial?

Answer 3

A defendant may waive the right to a jury trial and opt for a trial by judge, known as a “bench trial,” if the waiver is freely and intelligently made.

However, the defendant does not have an absolute right to a bench trial. The court or prosecutor may compel the defendant to submit to a jury trial, unless the defendant would be denied a fair trial.

Question 4

A jury of fewer than ___ members is a denial of due process.

Answer 4

six

Question 5

What are the rules on unanimous jury verdicts?

Answer 5

A unanimous verdict is constitutionally required of both federal and state juries, regardless of the number of jurors.

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure require a unanimous vote by a 12-member jury in federal criminal trials, unless waived in writing and approved by the court. A verdict by 11 jurors is permitted if the 12th juror is excused for good cause after deliberations begin.

Question 6

Which must represent a fair cross-section of the community: the pool from which the jury is selected, or the actual jury selected?

Answer 6

The pool

Question 7

To challenge jury selection discrimination, the prima facie case for absence of a representative cross-section can be established by showing what?

To rebut, the prosecution must show what?

Answer 7

i) The group allegedly excluded is a “distinctive” group in the community;
ii) The group was not fairly represented in the venire from which the jury was chosen; and
iii) The underrepresentation resulted from a systematic exclusion of the group in the jury-selection process.

To rebut, the prosecution must show that the disproportionate exclusion manifestly and primarily advances a significant governmental interest.

Question 8

What test determines whether a peremptory challenge has been exercised on the basis of race?

Answer 8

The three-prong test (the “Batson” test) requires that:

i) The moving party establishes a prima facie case of discrimination;
ii) The party who exercised the challenge provides a race-neutral explanation for the strike;
iii) The moving party carries her burden of proving that the other party’s proffered reason was pretextual and that the strike was indeed motivated by purposeful discrimination.

Question 9

Claims of juror bias and misconduct are subject to what standard of review?

Answer 9

the harmless-error rule

Question 10

When a sentence may be increased if additional facts are established, a jury must generally determine the existence of such facts based on what standard?

Answer 10

beyond a reasonable doubt

(enhancement of a defendant’s sentence by a judge without such a jury determination violates the defendant’s right to a jury trial; harmless-error test applies to determine whether a sentence enhanced in violation of a defendant’s right to a jury trial must be reversed)

Question 11

A guilty plea must be both intelligent and voluntary. The judge must determine that the defendant knows and understands what?

What happens when the court fails to so ensure?

Answer 11

i) The nature of the charges and their essential elements;
ii) The consequences of the plea (e.g., the maximum and minimum possible sentences, possible immigration consequences); and
iii) The rights that the defendant is waiving (e.g., right to a trial)

The judge must also determine that the plea did not result from force or improper threats or from promises other than those contained in the plea agreement.

When the court fails to ensure that the plea was knowing and voluntary, the defendant is entitled to withdraw his plea.

Question 12

In entering a plea, does a defendant have the right to counsel?

Answer 12

Yes

Question 13

What happens if the prosecution violates the provisions of the plea bargain?

What happens if a defendant fails to abide by the plea agreement (e.g., fails to testify in another trial)?

Answer 13

Prosecution violates: judge decides whether specific performance of the plea is required or whether the defendant can withdraw his plea.

Defendant violates: prosecution can have the sentence vacated and reinstate the original charge.

Question 14

A defendant, by entering a guilty plea, waives which rights?

a) the right to a trial,
b) the privilege against self-incrimination,
c) the right to confront his accusers,
d) the right to challenge a guilty plea on the due-process grounds that it was not a knowing and voluntary waiver of such rights
e) a double jeopardy challenge on due process grounds
f) the right to challenge a guilty plea due to ineffective assistance of counsel
g) the right to challenge a guilty plea due to lack of jurisdiction

Answer 14

a) Yes
b) Yes
c) Yes
d) No
e) Only if the waiver is agreed to in the plea agreement
f) No
g) No

Question 15

The Due Process Clause and federal and state statutes protect defendants from ___. The Sixth Amendment speedy trial guarantee, the Fourteenth Amendment, the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, and other federal and state statutes protect defendants from ___.

Answer 15

intentional and prejudicial pre-accusation delay

undue post-accusation delay

Question 16

What are the factors to be considered in determining whether the defendant has been deprived of a speedy trial post-accusation?

Answer 16

i) Length of the delay;
ii) Reason for the delay;
iii) Defendant’s assertion of a right to a speedy trial; and
iv) Prejudice to the defendant.

Question 17

What happens if the defendant’s right to a speedy trial is violated?

Answer 17

the charges are dismissed with prejudice

Question 18

A trial must be public unless ___.

Answer 18

there is either a substantial likelihood of prejudice to the defendant or a need to limit access to ensure an orderly proceeding

Question 19

Examples of prosecutorial misconduct?

Answer 19

A prosecutor may not:

i) Make material misstatements of law or fact;
ii) Elicit information from the defendant outside the presence of his counsel;
iii) Express opinions about the defendant’s guilt or innocence;
iv) Make unfair or improper remarks about the defendant, his counsel, or witnesses;
v) Comment on the defendant’s failure to testify at trial; or
vi) Make improper remarks to the jury to inflame their passions to convict for an improper reason.

Question 20

Due process requires the prosecution to disclose what evidence?

Answer 20

Evidence favorable to the accused (i.e., exculpatory or impeaching) when such evidence is material to guilt or punishment.

Evidence is material if there is a “reasonable probability” that disclosure would have changed the outcome of the proceeding; a reasonable probability is “a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.”

Question 21

What happens if the prosecution fails to disclose evidence in its possession both favorable and material to the defense?

Answer 21

entitles the defendant to a new trial

Question 22

A criminal defendant has the right to confront witnesses against him under the Sixth Amendment, unless ___.

Answer 22

preventing such confrontation is necessary to further an important public policy (e.g. protecting child witnesses from extra trauma as a result of testifying in the defendant’s presence) and the reliability of the testimony is otherwise assured

Question 23

The principal purpose of confrontation is ___.

Answer 23

to secure for the defendant the opportunity of cross-examination of the prosecution’s witnesses

Question 24

A denial of the opportunity to cross-examine a prosecution witness is subject to analysis under what standard?

Answer 24

harmless-error analysis

Question 25

How does the Confrontation Clause limit the use of hearsay evidence in a criminal trial?

Answer 25

The Confrontation Clause limits the use of hearsay evidence in a criminal trial. Out-of-court statements by witnesses that are “testimonial” generally are barred under the Confrontation Clause, unless the witnesses are unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine those witnesses, regardless of whether such statements are deemed reliable by the court. If, however, the declarant appears for cross-examination at trial, then the Confrontation Clause places no constraints at all on the use of the declarant’s prior out-of-court testimonial statements. Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 59 (2004).

Out-of-court testimonial statements are not barred by the Confrontation Clause when they are used for a purpose other than establishing the truth of the matter asserted (i.e., when they are not used for a hearsay purpose). Id. See also Tennessee v. Street, 471 U.S. 409, 417 (1985).

The Confrontation Clause has no application to “non-testimonial” out-of-court statements. Whorton v. Bockting, 549 U.S. 406, 420 (2007).

A statement is considered “testimonial” if the declarant would reasonably expect it to be used in a prosecution. Such statements include affidavits, custodial examinations, prior testimony, and statements given in response to police interrogation. Statements made for the primary purpose of assisting the police in the investigation of an ongoing emergency are not testimonial.

Question 26

A court should only grant a [motion for] judgment of acquittal if it finds that ___.

Answer 26

there is insufficient evidence for a jury reasonably to find the defendant guilty

Question 27

When may the defense file a motion for judgment of acquittal?

Answer 27

a) After the government closes its evidence or after the close of all the evidence;
b) Within 14 days after a guilty verdict or after the court discharges the jury, whichever is later

Question 28

The physical conditions of incarceration amount to cruel and unusual punishment only if ___.

Answer 28

the prisoner can show that prison officials had actual knowledge of a substantial risk to the prisoners

Question 29

The death penalty may be imposed only under a statutory scheme that provides what?

Answer 29

i) Clear and objective standards;
ii) Specific and detailed guidance; and
iii) An opportunity for rational review of the process.

Question 30

A defendant in a homicide case cannot be sentenced to death unless the trier of fact convicts the defendant of murder and finds at least one “aggravating circumstance” at either the guilt phase or penalty phase. The aggravating circumstance must meet what two requirements?

Answer 30

i) It must not apply to every defendant convicted of murder; and
ii) It must not be unconstitutionally vague. (For example, “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” conduct definition is unconstitutionally vague.)

Question 31

A death sentence violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments if the sentencing judge refuses to review or admit ___.

Answer 31

mitigating evidence

Question 32

The Eighth Amendment prohibits states from inflicting the death penalty on a prisoner who ___.

Answer 32

is insane, can “demonstrate a severe mental disorder, or has intellectual disabilities

Question 33

Does the Eighth Amendment prohibit the imposition of LWOP on a defendant who was younger than 18 at the time of the commission of the crime?

Answer 33

Only if the crime was not a homicide. If the crime was a homicide, the juvenile cannot be subject to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Question 34

When does the lack of adequate medical care constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment?

Answer 34

Only when there is a deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of an inmate. Mere negligence in assessing an inmate’s medical condition or in providing treatment is not sufficient to trigger a constitutional violation.